A Carson City man Wednesday thanked a deputy for not shooting him, just before a judge sentenced him to jail for having a loaded shotgun in his car that went off as the officer approached.
"I apologize to the deputy for whatever happened and thank him for not shooting back," said Mario Alberto Morris, 18, as he looked over his shoulder at Carson City Sheriff's Deputy Brian Morton.
"You owe the entire community an apology," said Judge Steve McMorris in sentencing Morris to 180 days in jail for having the loaded weapon.
Morris was arrested Jan. 22 following an incident at 7-Eleven in North Carson City in which his friend, Jose Gonzalez, 18, allegedly aimed the shotgun at a man in the parking lot with whom he'd argued inside the store.
Witnesses told emergency dispatchers the direction Morris drove from the parking lot, and Deputy Morton stopped the car at the top of Lakeview Hill.
As he approached the vehicle, a shot rang out.
Morris and Gonzalez immediately put their hands in the air and once in custody, told Morton they were trying to unchamber the 12-gauge shotgun when it discharged into the passenger-side floorboard.
Morton said he thought he was being shot at and was seconds away from opening fire when he saw their hands.
"I came so close," he said.
Morris' court-appointed attorney, Allison Joffee, said her client pleaded guilty to the charge so he could serve his jail sentence and leave the area.
"He's very appreciative to the officer that he didn't kill him," she said.
A date of March 4 has been set for a trial against Gonzalez.
Contact F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.
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