Former NFL defensive lineman Justin Bannan was sentenced Thursday to 16 years in state jail after capturing a Colorado lady in a weird 2019 incident.
Bannan, 42, was discovered responsible in September of tried homicide and first-degree assault, amongst different expenses stemming from a capturing at Black Lab Sports activities in Boulder, Colorado on October 16, 2019. The 12-year NFL veteran informed police on the scene that he was hiding from the Russian mafia when he hid in an acupuncturist’s remedy room and shot her when she opened the door.
Bannan’s sentencing listening to was initially scheduled for Nov. 5 then delayed a number of instances as a consequence of COVID-19 points. Bannan’s attorneys requested one postponement after a member of his authorized staff examined optimistic for COVID-19, then a second postponement after Bannan himself examined optimistic in jail.
“In response to the jail nurse, Mr. Bannan can be thought of infectious and can be quarantined for at the very least 10 days,” his attorneys wrote in a movement.
Bannan performed for 5 groups over the course of his NFL profession, together with the Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos. At trial, he pleaded not responsible by cause of madness, citing the results of head accidents from his NFL profession, amongst different issues.
Prosecutors, in the meantime, argued that Bannan was voluntarily intoxicated on the time of the capturing. The ex-lineman was carrying a rolled-up $20 invoice that contained traces of cocaine on the time of his arrest, in line with police data, and prosecutors mentioned he examined optimistic for cocaine at a pre-trial drug check in April 2020.
The sufferer within the capturing, Ashley Marie, informed USA TODAY Sports activities in an interview final yr that she was arriving for work on the day of the capturing when she noticed Bannan crouched within the nook of her remedy room with a handgun. She mentioned Bannan shot her as quickly as she opened the door.
The bullet pierced Marie’s shoulder and fractured her humerus bone. Marie has since filed a civil lawsuit in opposition to Bannan, which had been placed on pause till the conclusion of the felony trial.
“Each time I’ve to open an unknown door, I’m pondering twice,” Marie informed USA TODAY Sports activities. “After which really stepping out of the way in which – simply to verify there’s not a bullet coming my approach.”
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.
