Brothers imprisoned for firing on sheriff’s sergeant near Ely
ELY -- A judge has sentenced two brothers from Washington state to prison for shooting at a sheriff's sergeant while trying to avoid arrest in White Pine County.
Jesse Robert Spitzer, 19, of Sultan, Wash., and James Robert Spitzer, 24, of Everett, Wash., were sentenced to 22 years and eight months in prison after pleading guilty to reduced charges of attempted murder with a deadly weapon and burglary.
Both men apologized at the July 11 sentencing before District Judge Steve Dobrescu, the Ely Times reported. James Spitzer described where .357-caliber, .45-caliber and 9mm handguns had been left. Their lawyers and their mother, Tammy Spitzer of Sultan blamed their actions on addiction to narcotics. Letters from friends and relatives were submitted calling for leniency.
"It's not them at all. It's the drugs," Tammy Spitzer said.
White Pine County District Attorney Kelly Brown told the judge the Sept. 9 shooting came after the Spitzer brothers fled Washington with a stolen gun in a stolen vehicle to avoid criminal warrants stemming from burglaries in that state.
"They decided they weren't going to go down easy," the prosecutor said. "They were going to fight. They were going to murder a peace officer."
Sheriff's Sgt. Todd Fincher escaped injury when shots were fired at his patrol car during a traffic stop on a county road off U.S. Highway 6 near Murray Summit. Fincher told the judge the shooting would haunt him for the rest of his life.
He said he was responding to a report of a burglary in progress at a home in Preston when he stopped a pickup that matched the description of the vehicle involved. He said the pickup was reported stolen Sept. 4.
Fincher said Jesse Spitzer restarted the vehicle and began to drive away just before a bullet struck the windshield of his patrol vehicle. More shots missed the vehicle as the Spitzers abandoned the pickup near Ruth and ran away.
Both men have been detained since September at Ely State Prison on $1 million bail. Jesse Spitzer pleaded guilty April 25 and James Spitzer pleaded May 11 to attempted murder and burglary.
