Michael Sean Conner
A man who “is lucky the gun wasn’t loaded” will be in prison for at least the next 14 years. Michael Sean Conner, 27, was convicted after leading police on a high-speed chase after a 2018 carjacking.
The police officer who was involved in the chase testified at the sentencing, giving the court “play-by-play” of what happened on that day. After Conner blasted down the interstate at 100 miles per hour, through a fence, and into a field, he stumbled out of the stolen 2015 Silverado.
According to the officer, Conner turned around and pointed his gun at the policeman. While he appeared to attempt to fire the weapon, the gun was not loaded and Conner quickly discarded it. After this, the defendant ran through the field and into a barn, where he was surrounded and taken into custody.
“He turns around, and aims the gun,” said the officer when reminiscing about the events of that day, “Once I saw that, I knew I was in a bad position. I’m waiting for rounds to start coming out.”
Erin Rust, Conner’s attorney, spent nearly two hours arguing for a lighter sentence for her client. One of her points involved Conner’s use of the firearm. Ms. Rust argued because there was never any risk of the police officer being injured by an unloaded gun, the court should not penalize him as severely as it could. And, according to Conner himself, he never intended to shoot any law enforcement during the chase.
“Mr. Conner was not meaning to fire the gun at anyone,” said Ms. Rust, “He threw the gun down to show law enforcement he was no longer armed.”
Prosecutor Scott Winne argued that, while no bullets were discharged, that did not change the intent of the act. He argued Conner meant to shoot, injure, or kill the officer, and that should be factored into the sentence.
Judge McDonough succinctly summed up his thoughts on the matter with his next statement. “I don’t have any doubt Mr. Conner wanted to harm the officer, but I haven’t shown anything he could though.”
Ms. Rust then argued for downward variance, basing her argument on a litany of factors. The first was Conner’s criminal history, which tended toward petty crimes and should not, in her opinion, be a factor in this sentence. Some of Conner’s previous crimes include littering and petty theft.
The second factor was Conner’s difficult childhood, a point emphasized by his aunt’s letter to the court. It detailed how Conner’s drug-addicted parents were constantly fighting and using him to harm the other, up until his mother’s death.
“He watched his father strangle his mother to death when he was eight years old,” said Ms. Rust, as she continued reading the letter. “All he knew was violence and alcoholism.”
“It is my belief, hope, and prayer that after he gets past this, he will live a good life,” said the letter from the aunt.
While the judge did take this childhood into consideration, he also told the court about one of Conner’s latest exploits. While in Silverdale, he microwaved water in a cup, and threw it at a guard. The guard had to be taken to the emergency room in order to be treated for third-degree burns. No reason was ever given for why he did this.
After a short time deliberating the judge sentenced Conner to 184 months in prison and five years of probation. In addition to these penalties, Conner is required to complete mental health and substance abuse treatment programs.
“The defendant made this as violent as he could make it,” said Judge McDonough, “He’s lucky the gun wasn’t loaded.”
Ms. Rust asked for this sentence to be run consecutively to his upcoming sentence in a Georgia federal court, but Judge McDonough declined to rule on that. He said that would be up to the judge in Georgia.
“I can’t imagine what you’ve been through,” said the judge before Conner left the courtroom, “But you have let this define you. It’s not fair, it’s not right, but it’s the way the world has worked for you. It’s up to you to change it.”