A Rocky Mountain House man who threatened to shoot police has been sentenced to 13 months in jail.
Whayne Tooley, 29, will serve another 2 1/2 months on weekends after being credited with 10 1/2 months pre-trial custody when he appeared in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench on Monday.
Tooley pleaded guilty to using a firearm in the commission of an indictable offence and uttering threats.
He was also placed on probation for two years and must surrender a sample of his DNA.
He also received a firearms and weapons ban for 10 years.
Other charges were dismissed following a preliminary hearing last year.
Tooley was scheduled to have a three-day trial but a plea agreement was worked out between Crown prosecutor Maurice Collard and defence lawyer Rick Wyrozub.
Collard told Justice Ernest Marshall that the incident began around midnight on Boxing Day 2008 at an acreage where Tooley and his former girlfriend lived. The site is about 10 km south of Hwy 11 near Rocky.
The woman phoned RCMP to complain about Tooley, who was intoxicated and arguing with her.
The argument escalated and Tooley retrieved a loaded .3030-calibre rifle and placed it on a window ledge facing the lane to their residence.
Tooley fired two rounds at an abandoned vehicle and told the woman he would kill any police who came. No officers were on scene at that point.
In a chilling video taken on the woman’s cellphone during the incident, Tooley is seen and heard yelling and banging his fists on a wall as well as making death threats against the police.
He had also called Rocky police and threatened to shoot anyone who showed up.
The rifle was never pointed at the woman nor did he threaten her, court heard.
The RCMP ERT team and a dog team were dispatched and arrested Tooley quietly.
Wyrozub said Tooley had no alcohol problem prior to the incident and was drinking that night because his father had died exactly a year earlier.
jwilson@www.reddeeradvocate.com