Casper Man Gets Prison Time For May Drive-By Shooting
A Casper man was sentenced to prison time for a May drive-by shooting Wednesday morning.
Natrona County District Court Judge Daniel Forgey sentenced Matthew Ray Nietert to two four- to eight-year prison sentences for conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and receiving stolen property. Both felonies are punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Nietert was the only adult in the shooting. Seventeen-year-old Quincy P. Brow was charged as an adult and given a bootcamp sentence.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, the May 19 shooting in Casper’s Paradise Valley neighborhood stemmed from a Facebook argument between the shooters and homeowner’s juvenile son that culminated with one of the teens agreeing to a fight. The homeowner’s son said one of the teens tried to jump him, but he handled them without any problem. The fight lasted roughly a minute.
That evening, the homeowner's son was eating dinner with his family when one of the teens sent him threatening text messages about his address.
Court documents say the teens met with Nietert, who retrieved a camouflage backpack from an apartment. On the way to the Paradise Valley home, it was decided that Nietert and two of the teens were going to be the shooters.
They drove past the residence before circling back and “opening up” on the home and speeding off.
No one was home at the time of the shooting, but the house and parked vehicles were damaged.
During Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, Assistant Natrona County District Attorney said Nietert has not taken responsibility for his role in the shooting. During a pre-sentence investigation, Nietert reportedly told authorities that he was approached by the teens and he thought they would just go to the house to talk When the shooting started, Nietert was scared so he hid the guns after the shooting.
But according to the affidavit, Nietert said he didn’t’ care if there were any children in the targeted home.
Nietert, Bell said, has shown a lack of responsibility and remorse following the shooting.
“He was the only adult in this situation,” Bell said.
Eric Palen, the court-appointed attorney representing Nietert disputed that his client hasn’t taken responsibility and said there are concerns about Nietert’s mental and cognitive abilities.
Palen said Nietert is “willing and ready” to enter drug treatment programs.
Forgey left the courtroom for roughly 20 minutes to go over Nietert’s case. He returned and Nietert’s mother briefly spoke.
She said her son suffered a brain injury at a young age. Since then, he has been in and out of different mental health programs. It’s carried into Nietert’s adult life, which is how the then 25-year-old found himself with teenagers the night of the shooting.
After Nietert’s mother addressed the court, Forgey handed down his sentence.