PORT ANGELES — A 55-year-old Port Angeles man who threatened to shoot a lesbian couple has been sentenced in Clallam County Superior Court to 30 months in prison and 30 months of community custody.
Michael Sampont pleaded guilty to two counts of malicious harassment after he threatened to shoot the couple in August.
The Port Angeles couple told police Sampont threatened to shoot them with the gun in his back pocket, court records say.
When officers made contact with Sampont after the incident, he was intoxicated and said he “might have said [he] was going to shoot the two girls” because of their loud music and he “might have” threatened them because they were lesbians, records say.
He also told police he “might have pointed [his] finger at” the couple in the form of a gun, indicating he would shoot them.
In a letter Sampont wrote to Superior Court Judge Erik Roher, Sampont wrote that he was the actual victim in the case.
He wrote that he was seven years sober before the incident and hadn’t been arrested since 2008.
He said he drank alcohol for the first time in seven years and became angry with his noisy neighbors, records say.
He wrote that his goal was to move to Arizona to be with his parents who are dealing with medical issues.
“If it wasn’t for AA meetings … I wouldn’t have received 7 years sober,” he wrote. “I do feel I’m the victim in this matter.”
At sentencing last Wednesday, Deputy Prosecutor Steve Johnson requested the maximum sentence of 60 months.
In Sampont’s guilty plea statement, he wrote that he does not admit guilt, but that there is enough evidence to support a finding of guilt.
Sampont’s felony criminal history includes convictions for assault, burglary, malicious mischief and four violations of no-contact orders, according to the Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
His misdemeanor criminal history includes eight harassment-related convictions, six misdemeanor convictions for violating no-contact orders and convictions for domestic violence assault, driving under the influence, malicious mischief and resisting arrest.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
