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US driver gets four months jail for shooting cyclist in the head

Judge takes previous character into account in suspending most of sentence

A former firefighter who shot a cyclist, the bullet missing his head by a fraction of an inch as it passed through his helmet, is set to spend just four months in jail after being sentenced for assault by a court in North Carolina.

As previously reported on road.cc, prosecutors had pressed for 42-year-old Charles Alexander Diez to be charged with attempted first degree murder after he shot cyclist Alan Simons. But a Grand Jury in the town of Asheville, where the incident took place, rejected their argument and he was charged with the lesser offence of felony assault instead.

The shooting took after Diez remonstrated with Mr Simons about the danger of cycling on a busy road with his four-year-old son on a seat on the back of the bike. Mr Simons’ wife was present on a separate bicycle. Diez claimed that he fired the shot as a warning to Mr Simons, whom he said was ignoring him, although the fact the bullet hit the cyclist’s helmet might suggest he took deliberate aim.

Reporting on the case, the Citizen-Times said that Superior Court Judge James Downs had handed Diez a 15-27 month prison sentence, with all except the first four months suspended for 30 months. Should he break the law during that period, the full custodial sentence could be imposed. He was also ordered to attend an anger management course, and to pay Mr Simons $1,200 to cover medical costs arising from damage to his eardrum.

Mitigating factors such as Diez’s military record and his service as a fireman, plus his lack of a previous criminal record, helped reduce the sentence, but Mr Simons and his wife were disappointed at the court’s leniency.

“We think the sentence is light, but we expected it coming in,” they told the newspaper, “because of his outstanding career as a fireman.”

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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8 comments

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ch | 9 years ago
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Sentenced reduced in consideration of (1) he hates cyclists (2) he's a brave man with a glorious gun not afraid to use it in a one-sided showdown.

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OldRidgeback | 14 years ago
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North Carolina's in the south. Call the locals there yanks and they'll not be too happy. And remember, they carry guns.

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rodbat | 14 years ago
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Only Yanks would believe that a fireman is more important than a childs life. What a load of idiots

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mrchrispy | 14 years ago
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words fail me
 13

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badbunny | 14 years ago
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I shot him in the head to warn him how dangerous it is to cycle on a busy road with his child  39 yeah that makes sense.....maybe on planet la la

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OldRidgeback | 14 years ago
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I reckon the cyclist in Bournemouth may face longer prison time if found guilty of shoving a PCSO.

I've been to North Carolina many times, nice place, I was there last month. I still don't quite follow the logic in shooting a cyclist in the head to warn him of the danger of riding a bicycle while carrying a four year old child on the rear. It still sounds like attempted murder to me, which would be a 10 year sentence minimum.

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Denzil Dexter | 14 years ago
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Luckily though, not in the same part of it

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OldRidgeback | 14 years ago
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We live in a crazy world.

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