BG man going to prison for shooting himself; state rep, who was on ride-along with trooper, testifies

A Bowling Green man who shot himself in the leg with a stolen gun is going to jail.

Both the arresting Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper and Ohio Rep. Haraz Ghanbari, R-Perrysburg, spoke at Graig Gibson’s sentencing Tuesday.
Gibson, 32, was transported from the jail to the courtroom of Wood County Common Pleas Judge Matt Reger.
 
He pleaded guilty in June to having weapons while under disability, discharging a firearm on or near prohibited premises (with a firearm specification), resisting arrest, possession of marijuana and receiving stolen property.

Both Trooper Casimir Von Sacken and Ghanbari, who was on a ride-along the morning of the incident, asked for the maximum jail sentence allowed.

On Jan. 1, Von Sacken initiated a traffic stop northbound Ohio 25 just south of Ohio 582.

Both he and Ghanbari heard what sounded like a gunshot north of them and also heard someone talking.

“I know what a gunshot sounds like. I wasn’t expecting it to be happening on State Route 25,” Ghanbari said Tuesday.

He said a man appeared “out of the fog” like in a horror movie as the trooper was conducting a sobriety test on the driver of the stopped vehicle.
A pedestrian, later identified as Gibson, was walking along the southbound lanes of travel wearing dark clothing.

Because it was 2:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day and very foggy, the trooper asked the man to approach so he would not be in danger of being struck by a motorist.

Gibson told Von Sacken he had run out of gas and was walking to Bowling Green, Ghanbari said.

Meanwhile, the two people in the vehicle that was stopped were in the rear seat of the police cruiser.

Ghanbari said he will never forget what happened in the next few minutes.

As he walked around the back of the cars, he heard a gunshot and saw Von Sacken on the ground. He was asked to get a first aid kit out of the cruiser and fixed a tourniquet around Gibson’s leg.

“My bigger concern was in the span of that time, this could have gone a much different way,” Ghanbari said.
Ghanbari said he has done numerous ride-alongs with Von Sacken.

“They are often the ones running toward danger when others are running away from danger,” he said of first responders.

Von Sacken said Gibson was walking in the roadway and could have been struck by a car. He was clearly intoxicated.

Gibson first said it was not his gun, that he was holding it for a friend, then denied having a gun and that the trooper shot him.

The gun was found in the grass about 3 feet away.

According to previous statements, as Gibson was being transported to Toledo Hospital, he tried to swallow a bag of marijuana.

Defense attorney Sara Roller said her client had admitted to the offenses, including that he stole the gun.

She said he has had issues with marijuana and cocaine, and wasn’t given many opportunities as a child. He often conducted illegal activities to earn money to support himself and lived with various relatives after leaving foster care

“Mr. Gibson has had very little stability through his entire life … and not a lot of places for him to turn to,” Roller said.
 
She said that Gibson was the only person injured, and discharging the gun was unintentional.

Roller asked for a sentence of four years, plus the mandatory one year for a firearm specification, which would allow him to be released after 18 months.

Wood County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jim Hoppenjans asked for 12 months each for the having weapons while under disabilities and receiving stolen property charges, and five years for the discharging a firearm, plus the one-year mandatory firearm specification, to be served consecutively for a total of eight years.

Hoppenjans said the consecutive sentences were appropriate as Gibson was driving drunk, had admitted to stealing the gun, and the trooper had to walk through lanes of traffic to get the defendant – all creating risks due to his choices.

“He also made the choice to bring with him the gun and the drugs,” Hoppenjans said.

He also asked for 180 days for resisting arrest, to be served concurrently, and a mandatory $150 fine for the possession of marijuana charge.

“I’m sorry for what happened — what could have happened but didn’t happen,” Gibson said.

He said he meant no harm to anybody and wasn’t in his right mind that night.

“I meant no harm to these guys … or to myself,” Gibson said.

He said he reached to pull up his pants and when the trooper grabbed him, the gun went off.

“You guys can judge me all you want. I know I’m not a violent person,” Gibson said.

He said he had no explanation for why he took the gun.

“It was the wrong thing to do, but I meant no harm to anyone else or to myself,” Gibson said.

On Jan. 9, a Bowling Green resident reported a gun had been stolen from his apartment. The man said he had a New Year’s Eve party that Gibson attended.

The serial number of the gun recovered Jan. 1 by the state trooper matched the gun reported stolen.

Reger said the court was limited by law when in imposed consecutive sentences.

He then sentenced Gibson to a mandatory eight years for the discharging a firearm plus one year mandatory for the firearm specification; 24 month for having a firearm while under disability to be served concurrently with 18 months for receiving stolen property but consecutively with the longer sentence.

Gibson had previously been found guilty of the felonies of possessing and trafficking in cocaine in 2014.

A sentence of 90 days for resisting arrest will be served concurrently.

The minimum sentence is 11 years and the maximum, since this offense falls under the Reagan Tokes Law, is 15 years.

The $150 mandatory fine was waived.

Gibson had been indicted in January for receiving stolen property, a fourth-degree felony; tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony; resisting arrest, a second-degree misdemeanor; failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer, a first-degree misdemeanor; two counts having weapons under disability, both third-degree felonies; two counts discharge of firearms on or near prohibited premises, one a second-degree felony and one a third-degree felony; and possession of marijuana and intoxicated pedestrian of highway, both minor misdemeanors.

The remaining charges were dismissed Tuesday.

“I think it’s a fair sentence,” Ghanbari said. “It’s clear from what we heard in the court today this is not his first time being incarcerated. I hope this will be his last time.”

Gibson plans to appeal.