LAKEPORT— A Lucerne man who was arrested last June for suspicion of shooting his roommate in self-defense, recently appeared at the Lake County Superior Court for his sentencing hearing.
During a preliminary hearing last year, Michael Lawrence Finnegan, 53, entered a no contest plea to Count 2, which is an assault with a semiautomatic rifle on person.
According to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, deputies arrived at the location for a report of a male who had been shot by his roommate. When they arrived, Finnegan was found outside the residence and the victim, a 51-year-old man, inside with a wound to
the chest. The victim told deputies that he had been shot by Finnegan and was then transported to an out-of-county hospital for treatment. He is expected to recover from his injury, LCSO said. Finnegan told deputies he shot the roommate with a .22 caliber pistol “because he felt like he was being attacked.” The 53-year-old explained to authorities that the victim had been “very hostile” during the last week and threatened to kick Finnegan out of the home. The victim continuously barged into his room, according to Finnegan, which then led to the shooting after the roommate allegedly lunged at him.
The parties had previously entered into a sentencing agreement and on the motion of the People (Lake County District Attorney’s Office), the Court ordered Count 1 (Assault with Firearm on Person) and Count 3 (Battery with Serious Bodily Injury) be dismissed in the interest of justice and pursuant to the negotiated disposition.
The Court read and considered the Report and Recommendation of the Lake County Probation Officer and the Court made the following findings:
The defendant was under the influence of an alcoholic beverage at the time of the commission of the offense with a demonstrated history of substance abuse.
The defendant was ordered to serve a period of 365 days in Lake County Jail with a total of 93 days credit for time previously served and behavior credits – Finnegan is entitled to a half time conduct credit case, meaning the 365 days is deemed served after half of that time. The defendant will report in person at the Lake County Probation Department’s Reporting Center (DRC) on the third Friday following his release from custody or the disposition of this matter if defendant is not in custody.
Finnegan was also placed on formal probation for a period of three years, which is subject to various terms and conditions – some of them being –
There may be elevated sanctions as a result of committing violation(s) of any of the court ordered probation conditions, including:
•Periods of electronic monitoring, increased community service hours, increased treatment/counseling programs
•Obey all laws, abide by all orders of the Court
•Will not leave the State of California without first securing the written permission of the probation officer and seek approval of the supervising officer prior to moving to another residence – keeping officer informed of any changes to his phone numbers and/or mailing and physical address within 5 days of changing any of the contact information
•The defendant will not possess, nor have in his control of any type of firearm or any deadly weapon and abstain from any use of intoxicating liquor
The defendant is ordered pay a Restitution Fee of $1,800, Criminal Justice Administrative Fee of $90, Court Operations Assessments of $40 and a Criminal Conviction Assessment of $30.
