ODNR officer sentenced for shooting his own parents in March
The 25-year-old was drunk and ‘just went berserk,’ his father told Union Township police.
CLERMONT COUNTY, Ohio (WXIX) - An Ohio Department of Natural Resources officer was sentenced to seven to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to shooting his parents in March.
Austin Snyder, 25, and his parents were in the courtroom Friday when the judge announced the sentence.
His parents both recovered from their gunshot wounds and asked the judge for mercy as the sentence was handed down.
“Your honor, Austin Synder is my son,” Snyder’s father told the judge. “He is a loving father to a seven-month-old. I’m here today to ask for leniency in his sentencing.”
Synder was off duty at the time of the shooting, according to an ODNR spokesperson.
The shooting happened shortly before 10:30 p.m. in March at a house on Gene Lane, according to the Union Township police incident report.
Snyder’s attorney for Snyder says his client became heavily intoxicated and combative, destroying property at their home. That led to a confrontation with his family.
Officers responded to a call from someone inside the home about a man being drunk and locked out.
As officers were heading there, the man made it back into the house, went to a room where guns were stored and shot two people inside a bedroom of the home, according to the incident report.
The officers found a man matching the clothing description of the shooter at the edge of the driveway, the report reads.
Officers ordered him to the ground at gunpoint, and he complied, after which they handcuffed him and put him in the cruiser, police say.
One of the officers says the man identified himself as Snyder, and according to the incident report, the officer wrote, “While with the suspect I noticed a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from his person. His speech was also slurred.”
One of the victims, a 51-year-old woman, was shot in the wrist and shoulder, the report reads. The other, a 53-year-old man, was shot in the forearm and carried out on a stretcher.
His parents have recovered from their injuries.
Even though Snyder showed remorse in court, the judges say his actions are inexcusable.
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