CASPER — A 48-year-old Casper man who vowed “revenge” on an ex-girlfriend before shooting a crossbow bolt through her window will face up to eight years in prison.
Judge Daniel Forgey of Natrona County District Court sentenced Casey Jackson to four to five years in prison for unlawfully possessing a weapon and six to eight years for felony property destruction on Wednesday.
The sentences should run concurrently. He received credit for time served on reckless endangerment and stalking charges.
Jackson, who pleaded guilty to the charges in March as part of a deal with Natrona County District Attorney Dan Itzen, appeared in court dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit and black Nike sneakers.
He told police he was “heartbroken” over his breakup with his ex-girlfriend and had texted someone that he was “mad” and was going to do something “in the news.”
Following that, he fired a three-bladed crossbow bolt through the kitchen window of his ex-girlfriend’s home in September.
He is ‘remorseful’
Prior to sentencing, defense attorney Marty Scott requested that the judge consider suspending any prison sentences in favor of supervised probation for his client.
He acknowledged that Jackson “clearly has some sort of mental health issues,” and that he “is remorseful for what he did.”
Scott stated that if the court did not grant his client probation, he requested two and a half to four years for the possession of a weapon charge and four to six years for property destruction.
Itzen had previously argued for a harsh sentence, pointing out that Jackson was on parole when he fired the crossbow through the window where his ex-girlfriend was staying. He also claimed Jackson has a lengthy criminal history.
“I believe this is his tenth felony. “Look at how many weapons offenses he has,” Itzen said. “He’s extremely dangerous.”
According to court records, Jackson has previous convictions for drug possession, assault, and possession of a deadly weapon.
‘I will find you’
Itzen recounted what was in a police affidavit, which notes that after his girlfriend broke up with Jackson on Sept. 8, last year, she received a text from Jackson two days later saying that he “was not afraid to go back to prison” and “you better answer me, or I will find you.”
Itzen claimed that on September 11, Jackson was outside his ex-girlfriend’s house and texted her, “standing outside smoking, ha ha, easy.”
According to the police affidavit, Jackson texted his ex-girlfriend on September 19, as she was about to go to court to get a protection order against him. The text stated that “he would kill” her new boyfriend, “and maybe her.”
Jackson also texted that “he had people watching the courthouse and that she was a ‘rat bitch’ and that he would kill people if she did not contact him,” according to the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, Jackson texted his ex-girlfriend’s female friend, “I will get my revenge.” She is in serious trouble; she may want to leave town if she knows what is best for her. I’m so mad; I’m going to make it worthwhile; it will undoubtedly make headlines.”
Itzen requested a sentence of four to six years for possession of a weapon with unlawful intent and six to eight years for property destruction.
When it was his turn to speak, Jackson told the judge that he had “anger” issues and that if given the opportunity, he would apologize to his ex-girlfriend.
“I was just heartbroken,” he explained. “Never did I intend to hurt her.”
In addition to his prison sentence, Jackson was ordered to pay $1,500 in restitution for the damage his crossbow bolts caused to the building where his ex-girlfriend was staying.
During the investigation, police discovered a second crossbow bolt embedded in the siding above the window of a downstairs apartment.
