A Colorado man who grew up in Duluth and who faced an attempted manslaughter charge last fall after shooting a friend in the head received a probationary sentence Thursday after his guilty plea on a lesser charge.
Timothy Pollard, 38, of Greeley, Colo., pleaded guilty to felony menacing, according to Jennifer Finch, a spokeswoman for the Weld County District Attorney's Office in Greeley.
Pollard was sentenced in Weld County District Court on Thursday to four years of intensive supervised probation and 1,000 hours of public service. He also was ordered to pay $8,167.20 in restitution for his victim's medical expenses.
Robert Knorr, 28, was checking football scores on a computer at Pollard's home on Oct. 25 when Pollard shot him in the head. The initial charge alleged that Pollard recklessly attempted to cause the death of Knorr. The "menacing" charge that Pollard pleaded guilty to alleges the defendant placed or attempted to place Knorr in fear of imminent bodily injury by use of a gun.
According to the Greeley Police Department's report: Knorr told police that the last thing he remembered was sitting in a chair using the computer at Pollard's residence. He was shot in the back left side of his skull with the bullet exiting on the right side of his face, just below his lip.
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Pollard, a 1990 graduate of Duluth's Marshall School, told police that he and Knorr had been watching football together and were checking for fantasy football results. He denied to police that he was purposely aiming the gun at his friend when it went off.
Pollard told police that he drank six beers and a couple of shots of alcohol earlier at a Greeley bar. He opened another beer when he got home and said he considered himself "buzzed." He called 911 after shooting Knorr.
When asked why he handled the handgun in that matter, police said Pollard called it stupidity on his part. He said that he thought he had the safety on and couldn't be sure if he intentionally or accidentally took it off.
Knorr could not be reached for comment Thursday by the News Tribune.
