KINGWOOD — A Montrose man was sentenced Monday to one to three years in prison for attempted grand larceny. Four other charges were dropped.
Jason Lee Sturms pleaded guilty in Preston Circuit Court to attempted grand larceny under an Alford Kennedy plea. Under the plea, charges of conspiracy, use of a firearm in commission of a felony, assault committed in an attempt to commit a felony and wanton endangerment were dropped
Sturms attorney, Sam Hess, asked the court to give Sturms credit for time served. Sturms has been in jail for more than a year, according to Hess.
Tracy Hovatter told the court Sturms placed her daughter and her three grandchildren in danger when he discharged a firearm in her driveway.
“I ask you to give him the maximum penalty you can,” she told the court. “This is a pattern with him, disregarding other people’s safety.”
According to the criminal complaint, on March 25, 2018, Sturms and two others went to a Newburg area home to steal a Polaris RZR, a kind of four-wheeler, under the pretense they were there to repossess it. During the failed attempt, Sturms discharged a gun, and Joshua White was struck in the left leg and right foot.
Preston Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Savannah Wilkins also asked the court to give Sturms the maximum sentence. “He has other charges pending in Taylor County,” she said.
“You were arrested in 1995 when you were 18 years old,” Preston Judge Steven Shaffer told the defendant. He then read off a list of previous offenses, including battery, assault and battery, assault on an officer, domestic battery and possession of a controlled substance.
“You were charged with five felonies in this case,” Shaffer added.
Shaffer gave Sturms credit for time served.
“You are almost immediately eligible for parole,” he said. “This is a hard choice for the court. I believe you probably will be paroled. I could suspend your sentence and put you on bond. I’m not going to do that. With your history, if a parole board lets you out that’s on them. This court can’t do that,” Shaffer said.
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