Sentence suspended for man injured in drug-deal shooting
A man who was shot four times and racked up close to $1 million in medical bills after attempting to steal cocaine from a man west of Kalispell in 2009 was sentenced Thursday in Flathead County District Court.
Bryan Keith Schloss, 27, was dealt a five-year suspended sentence by Judge Ted Lympus after Schloss pleaded guilty in January to accountability to criminal possession of dangerous drugs.
He agreed to a plea deal in which prosecutors asked for the dismissal of an attempted robbery charge.
Lympus’ decision means Schloss will serve his sentence while on probation as long as he remains law-abiding.
Schloss was one of three people charged with felonies following a botched drug deal that occurred Dec. 5, 2009, on Four Mile Drive.
Schloss and his alleged accomplice Bo Hanger planned to steal cocaine from 23-year-old David Palumbo as the three rode together in a Honda CR-V, according to court documents.
Shots were fired at about 2:30 p.m. after Schloss allegedly attempted to rob Palumbo. At the time, Schloss had a 9 mm pistol, but it jammed during the incident, according to court records.
Palumbo fled on foot with the cocaine after shooting Schloss four times with a .40 caliber handgun. Hanger dropped the badly injured Schloss off at Kalispell Regional Medical Center and drove away. Hanger later was arrested by Whitefish police and is currently awaiting a trial in District Court.
Palumbo turned himself in to Stevens County, Wash., authorities on Dec. 10, 2009, for violating his parole by leaving Washington. On Dec. 13, 2010, he was sentenced in federal court to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to felony possession of a firearm for furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
Defense attorney Courtney Nolan requested a three-year suspended sentence for Schloss. She also asked that Lympus suspend a $1,500 fine due to the financial strains of his medical bills.
Scars were visible on Schloss’ neck as he remained silent during Thursday’s hearing and Nolan said he still requires occasional medical treatment for his injuries.
Deputy County Attorney Travis Ahner said he had no sympathy for the financial predicament of Schloss because of how the injuries were sustained.
“He was shot in the course of trying to rob someone,” Ahner said.
Nolan noted that the accountability to robbery charge had been dismissed and that Ahner’s comments thus were irrelevant.
“That was dismissed and I think it was dismissed for a reason. ... I don’t think it’s fair to drag my client’s name through the mud,” she said.
Lympus agreed to suspend the fine.
Schloss also received a suspended six-month jail sentence for an unrelated conviction of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Reporter Eric Schwartz may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at eschwartz@dailyinterlake.com.