A 39-year-old Vancouver man was sentenced Wednesday to more than three years in prison for pointing a loaded shotgun at a neighbor whose moving truck blocked traffic at their apartment complex.
A jury found Chris Sepelak guilty of second-degree assault on Feb. 27, about 2 1/2 years after the incident near Vancouver Mall.
On Wednesday, Judge Scott Collier denied Sepelak’s motion for a new trial and imposed a sentence of 39 months, court records state. Sepelak, through attorney Jeff Staples, requested another trial after he learned jurors “apparently indicated” to Judge Collier and Senior Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Vu following the trial that they were able to figure out Sepelak had post traumatic stress disorder, according to a motion.
The court had ruled evidence of Sepelak having PTSD was not allowed in the trial.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Sepelak got into an argument with Jason Worster, Steven Wold and others who were in the process of moving out and had blocked the parking lot at 4701 N.E. 72nd Ave.
Sepelak said he confronted the group, at which point they agreed to move the truck soon. Sepelak then retrieved a loaded pump-action shotgun from his apartment and returned to the parking lot, the affidavit said.
He pointed the shotgun at Worster and told the group that this was how the situation was going to be handled, court records state. People wrestled the shotgun away from Sepelak and called police.
Sepelak told police that he felt the other tenants were going to hurt him after he confronted them about moving their truck. He said they cursed at him and began following him aggressively, so he retrieved the shotgun from his apartment, according to court documents. He admitted he believed his post-traumatic stress disorder, from being an Iraq War veteran, affected his choices and that he should have called the police if he felt threatened.
Sepelak can no longer own a firearm because of his conviction, court records state.
Worster wrote in a victim impact statement that a punishment to the full extent of the law was “a good place to start” for Sepelak.
“These were the decisions of someone lacking anger management and self-control. Someone who poses a threat to other members of society anytime he engages in an argument,” Worster wrote.
Jerzy Shedlock: 360-735-4522; jerzy.shedlock@columbian.com; Twitter: twitter.com/jerzyms
