Katie Quackenbush, 32, has been sentenced to 11 months and 29 days of unsupervised probation after firing 2 shots at a homeless man and driving away in her Porsche.
A woman behind shooting a homeless man on Music Row in Tennessee will not be serving time in prison after being sentenced to less than a year on probation.
Katie Quackenbush, 32, has been sentenced to 11 months and 29 days of unsupervised probation after she was convicted of the misdemeanor of reckless endangerment in connection with the shooting of a man in 2017 on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee, according to WKRN.
The incident occurred after the shooting victim, Gerald Melton, and Quackenbush got into a “tense argument,” The Tennessean reported. The argument occurred after Melton was awakened due to fumes and loud music coming from Quackenbush’s Porsche, the local news source reported.
Melton testified that when he walked away from Quackenbush, she left her vehicle, and fired two shots that struck him in the abdomen. Prosecutors alleged that she then got back into her vehicle and left to go get Taco Bell before going home, according to The Tennessean.
A bystander reportedly called for help since Quackenbush or her passenger did not, according to The Tennessean.
Due to the injuries sustained from the shooting, Melton underwent three surgeries, according to The Tennessean.
Quackenbush was originally charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon when she was first arrested in 2017, according to police.
After she was arrested, she said that the first shot was out of self-defense after Melton allegedly threatened to kill her, according to FOX 17.
"My daughter told him 'I have a gun. Get the F away from me'," Jesse Quackenbush, Texas attorney and Katie’s father said, according to FOX 17. "She pulled off one round as a means of warning, not intending to hit him or kill him. She thought she pointed far enough away from him to just scare him away, and he kept coming and she shot another round."
At the sentencing, prosecutors challenged this claim of her being afraid of Melton, presenting an eyewitness that testified hearing Quackenbush say she was not afraid and that she was not taking him seriously, according to the New York Post.
According to the New York Post, the assistant district attorney, Amy Hunter, presented in court past threats that Quackenbush had allegedly made. These allegedly include a threat of hitting a baby with a brick and another of her pouring water on a woman while in a restaurant, reported the news source.
Quackenbush apologized to Melton for her actions when given the opportunity to speak at the court, but also reportedly claimed she had faced criticism, death threats, and difficulty finding employment, according to the New York Post.
“Millions of people were making fun of me online,” she said, according to the outlet. “I was convicted by the community before trial.”
Quakenbush has since moved to Texas and will fulfill the requirements of her probation there after being convicted of reckless endangerment, according to the New York Post.
