LAKE COUNTY — Patrick McDaniel Sr., 46, of Clearlake Oaks, was sentenced on Wednesday to 20 years in prison in connection with the 2008 shooting of Patrick O”Connor Sr., also of Clearlake Oaks, according to a press release from the Lake County District Attorney”s office.
McDaniel Sr. pistol-whipped and then shot O”Connor Sr. in the chest the day before Thanksgiving on Nov. 26, 2008, outside the home of O”Connor Sr.”s next-door neighbor on Second Street. O”Connor Sr. survived the attack.
Deputy District Attorney Sharon Lerman-Hubert prosecuted the case on behalf of the Lake County District Attorney”s Office. Defense attorney William Conwell represented McDaniel Sr. at trial, and defense attorneys Komnith Moth and Thomas Quinn represented McDaniel Sr. at sentencing. Judge Stephen O. Hedstrom presided.
In October 2009, a jury found McDaniel Sr. guilty of attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm.
McDaniel was also found guilty of possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of ammunition by a felon, and carrying a loaded firearm. The jury found true special allegations that the defendant personally used a firearm in the commission of the crime, intentionally discharged a firearm, and caused great bodily injury to the victim.
After the shooting, McDaniel Sr. fled to Las Vegas, Nev., where he was captured by U.S. Marshals the following month. During that time he failed to appear for sentencing on a felony drug possession case. As a result he was additionally charged with felony failure to appear. He was sentenced in all three cases on Wednesday.
At sentencing, prosecutor Sharon Lerman-Hubert argued that the defendant should receive the upper term, a total of 20 years in prison, because of the callous nature of the crime, the defendant”s flight to another state, and a lengthy criminal history dating back to 1983. Judge Hedstrom sentenced McDaniel Sr. to the upper term, citing the seriousness of the crime and the defendant”s lengthy record, which included felony convictions and violent conduct.
McDaniel Sr. will be eligible for parole in 2025.
