Skip to content

Vigilante Tees farmer to serve 90-day jail sentence for shooting thief

A vigilante farmer who shot a man twice with a shotgun after he stole his all-terrain vehicle was sentenced to a jail term on Friday.
Picture-3
Array

A vigilante farmer who shot a man twice with a shotgun after he stole his all-terrain vehicle was sentenced to a jail term on Friday.

Brian Knight, 41, of Tees, will serve a 90-day intermittent sentence on weekends. He was also banned from owning a firearm or explosives for 10 years at his sentencing hearing in Red Deer’s Court of Queen’s Bench.

Judge Monica Bast called this a case of vigilantism. She said a particularly aggravating factor was that Knight used a firearm to twice fire and strike the fleeing thief.

Defence lawyer Balfour Der had pleaded for a conditional discharge, or failing that a suspended sentence, while Crown prosecutor Jason Snider sought a 90-day jail term.

Knight was sentenced for criminal negligence causing bodily harm for shooting Harold Groening, who stole the ATV on March 26, 2009.

He pleaded guilty in mid-January. Court heard at that time that Knight didn’t intend to shoot Groening when the thief was attempting to flee through a field after abandoning the ATV.

Groening’s accomplices had fled in a truck, leaving Groening to drive the ATV down the road with Knight in pursuit in a vehicle.

Knight bumped into Groening, sending him crashing into the ditch.

Knight then grabbed a 12-gauge shotgun from his vehicle and fired high over the fleeing Groening with light birdshot.

However, several pellets hit Groening, who fell but got up again, running through a field. Knight fired again, hitting Groening in the back and backside areas.

Groening was briefly hospitalized for numerous wounds.

His two accomplices were sentenced last year after pleading guilty to lesser charges.

Several firearms-related charges earlier were withdrawn against Knight.