The district court, in its session as the youth court, in Be’er Sheva, sentenced six years in prison, a suspended sentence, and compensation in the amount of tens of thousands of shekels to a defendant who shot on two different occasions at people with whom he had a conflict. The accused, who was a 17-year-old minor at the time of the crimes, was convicted of aggravated assault with intent, threats, willful assault and weapons. Another defendant was convicted of aiding and abetting and sentenced to probation.
The amended indictment shows that between the first defendant and the complainants there is a dispute regarding the ownership of the land. In light of the above, during January 2022, the minor, masked and carrying a weapon, arrived at the complainants’ compound, and intentionally sabotaged the vehicle of one of them. Two of the complainants approached him in order to find out his identity. In response, the minor fired a weapon he carried with him. Another complainant went out with his mother to check what happened, and the minor in response cursed, threatened him, and fired several bullets at them and at a vehicle driven by another complainant.
The next day, at noon, one of the complainants went out with his car, and noticed the second accused walking with crutches and beckoning him with his hand, the complainant stopped near him to check if he needed help. When he opened the driver’s door, the first accused emerged and started firing a gun at the complainant who tried to close the car door without success, and was hit in the legs. After the shooting, the accused fled the scene. The complainant’s son and another person arrived to help the complainant’s father, the minor noticed them and fired several more bullets at them which missed.
As part of a plea deal, which did not include consent to punishment, the accused admitted to aggravated assault with intent, threats, weapons offenses and willful assault. At the sentencing, the vice president of the court, Judge Eliyahu Bitan, noted: “In recent years, the phenomenon of illegal possession of weapons has been flourishing and it brings with it many and serious evils. One of them, which is reflected here, is the use of illegally possessed weapons to commit serious violent crimes.”
“In terms of the destructive effects caused to the individual and society by violence and the use of weapons, it does not matter at all whether the perpetrator is a minor or an adult. A person who is shot does not find comfort in the fact that the person who shot him is a minor. Likewise, the identity of the shooter does not moderate the tension and anxiety of living in an environment of violence and use Illegal with a weapon. The vulnerabilities are the same vulnerabilities, and in any case the need and justification to curb the phenomenon using, among other things, an appropriate and deterring punishment, exists in both situations,” Beitan continued.
He also stated: “The defendant’s behavior is appalling in its severity. This is not someone who was caught up in an exciting incident and reacted in an irresponsible manner, but someone who himself initiated acts of revenge and paid, who voluntarily came to the place of residence of his victims and damaged their property, and when they went out to check what was happening, he did not run away from the place in a panic , but stood in front of them with his gun in his hand, threatened, expressed himself rudely and forcefully, and did not resort to repeated shooting, under circumstances that put him at risk of injury. After that, he did not disappear from the area for fear of the reaction against him, but shot once more.”
The court referred to the punishment requested by the prosecution while enumerating the considerations that led to the weighing of the punishment, which are, among other things, the defendant’s youth at the time of the offense, his clean record, his confession, and his chances of rehabilitation.