Walker Henneke

Before being sentenced to more than eight years in prison for firing his AK-47 into a group of people, Walker Henneke, of Bend, delivered his apologies: to the victims he shot, to the court for having to spend time on his actions and to the state for being forced to spend money on his incarceration.

Shackled and dressed in blue jail garb, Henneke’s 6-foot-4-inch frame towered in the courtroom Tuesday afternoon, as friends and loved ones surrounded him with a chorus of sniffles and tears. They had come to hear the repercussions for Henneke, a man with no criminal record, not even a speeding ticket.

Henneke, 24, was originally charged with attempted murder but took a plea deal for two counts of first-degree assault and one count of unlawful use of a weapon.

He was arrested April 23, 2016, after a drunken altercation in the early morning hours outside of his home near the Newport Avenue and 14th Street roundabout led to two people being shot.

Henneke told the court Tuesday he had returned home from the Westside Tavern around 2 a.m. and was so drunk he nearly blacked out. He turned on Netflix when a roommate came in and slapped him in the face and told him to go outside. When he did, he saw a brawl between his friends and a group of five men who had been noisily walking down Newport Avenue. One of Henneke’s friends had aggressively told the group to be quiet, according to the prosecution, and the group responded with equally profane language.

Henneke said he walked out to see one friend lying on the ground. Another was charging a member of the opposing group, only to get leveled by a kick to the chest. Henneke said someone then threw a drink in his eyes and then started beating him so hard he momentarily lost consciousness. He said he came to with his face on a curb.

Henneke then ran inside and grabbed an AK-47. When he came back out of the house, the five men were walking away. According to the prosecution, Henneke fired the semi-automatic rifle at the crowd. Two of the men — Blake Blevins and Erik Menezes — were struck in the back. Witnesses reported hearing five to 12 shots. Ten casings were found at the scene, though it wasn’t clear if all were fired that morning.

Looking back, Henneke said, he didn’t intend to hurt anyone and said his reaction was “incredibly stupid.”

“I could have hit my friend; I could have killed somebody,” he said in court. “I just panicked.”

Deschutes County Circuit Judge Bethany Flint agreed Henneke’s actions were stupid. Henneke had no criminal history, and Flint said to go straight to shooting into a crowd in a residential area was the most “perplexing” part of the case.

“I find that the most morbidly curious fact pattern that I have seen in a while,” she said.

Flint said she was “shocked” upon reading the proposed plea agreement, which was 100 months in prison. Ninety of the months are imposed under Measure 11, Oregon’s mandatory minimum sentencing law, which means Henneke will serve the full amount because he is ineligible for early release based on good behavior or participation in jail programs.

Even so, Flint asked Deschutes County Deputy District Attorney Kandy Gies to further argue why the sentence was sufficient.

“The information I have heard here today does not make me at all want to follow this recommendation,” Flint said. While the prosecution and defense can propose a deal, the judge has the ultimate say in the sentence.

Gies said in negotiating the plea, she weighed prison time with Henneke’s ability to get a job and pay the proposed $35,000 in restitution to Blevins and Menezes.

Flint said she understood that, but nothing could make the victims whole again. She said she also was bothered by the danger Henneke presented to the community that morning.

“I am disinclined to follow the negotiations because of the significant risk you put this community in,” Flint told Henneke.

While much of the hourlong hearing focused on Henneke’s recklessness, emphasis was also placed on his remorse. More than 20 members of the public attended the sentencing, many appearing to be there in support of Henneke. The four Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office deputies lining the courtroom were outnumbered by a crowd of 20-somethings tearing up while watching their friend be sentenced to prison.

Henneke’s mom stood up to tell Flint how her son has started a Bible study group in the jail and is seeking treatment for his alcohol use. A longtime friend testified that Henneke is the best man he knows, and a job at the mill where the two used to work together would be waiting for Henneke the day he is released from prison.

Even Gies talked about the remorse and cooperation Henneke has shown since the shooting and cited his lack of criminal history.

Eventually, Flint herself was apparently swayed, as she went along with the plea agreement exactly.

“You will come out a very different man on the other side of this,” Flint told Henneke just before reading her sentence. “I hope for the better.”

— Reporter:541-383-0376, awieber@bendbulletin.com

“I could have hit my friend; I could have killed somebody. I just panicked.”— Walker Henneke, of Bend