Extended-stay motel shooter given 30 years in state prison

Judge Amy Eddy sentenced convicted murderer Steven Justin Hedrick on Thursday to 30 years in the Montana State Prison for the 2023 slaying of Jeffery Brookshire in a Whitefish extended-stay motel.

Handing down the sentence in Flathead County District Court, Eddy also gave Hedrick, 34, credit for 437 days of time served and ordered him to pay restitution. A jury found Hedrick guilty of felony deliberate homicide Jan. 19 after deliberating for about six hours.

Hedrick headed into the trial, which spanned the better part of a week, accused of confronting a noisy and belligerent neighbor in the hallway of the Locals Monthly Lodging building while armed with a gun. Aimed at Brookshire’s head, the single-action revolver, which Hedrick had cocked before placing his finger on the trigger, went off while the two argued. Surveillance footage of the shooting played for jurors showed Brookshire crumple to the floor.