A six year prison term has been ordered for a Lake Havasu City man who shot the neighbor who picked a fight with him nearly two years ago. The sentence imposed on March 14 for Andrew Bullard, 32, was on the low end of a 5- to 15-year prison range contemplated by Mohave County Court Commissioner Billy Sipe.
A trial jury convicted Bullard of two aggravated assault counts last December but could not reach a verdict on an attempted murder charge that has subsequently been dismissed.
Attorneys involved in the case agreed that the shooting victim Dustin Halliday, 41, was the initial aggressor in the encounter with Bullard, who was preparing for a day trip with his family when an argument outside their homes escalated into a fight. Defense attorney Lee Novak said Halliday was drunk and high on methamphetamine when he threw a rock that left a gash in Bullard’s head that required hospital treatment.
Prosecutor Megan McCoy said the jury rejected Bullard’s claim of self defense because the shooting was unnecessary. She noted that Bullard exited the altercation and retreated within his home where he retrieved a weapon and returned to confront Halliday along a fence line separating their property.
McCoy said Bullard should have remained in his home and waited for police to arrive rather than shooting Halliday several times. “He committed atrocious acts of violence and shot more than once at a victim standing in his own yard,” McCoy said.
Judge Sipe said Bullard’s self defense, defense was not legitimate. He said Bullard had no right to shoot Halliday, despite Halliday’s aggression.
