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Dec 04, 2023

Spray of bullets from automatic weapon on Sun Prairie street leads to 6

A Madison man who was 16 years old in 2020 when he fired a rapid spray of 38 bullets from a modified gun on a busy Sun Prairie street, hitting buildings and vehicles but somehow missing any people,

A Madison man who was 16 years old in 2020 when he fired a rapid spray of 38 bullets from a modified gun on a busy Sun Prairie street, hitting buildings and vehicles but somehow missing any people, was sentenced Thursday to six years in prison.

Dane County Circuit Judge Josann Reynolds rejected a lengthier sentence proposed by prosecutors, finding the argument on behalf of 18-year-old Yeshua K.J. Schworck by his attorney, Murali Jasti, far more persuasive.

“I can tell you this is not what I expected to do today,” Reynolds told Schworck. “You should be grateful to your attorney.”

In total, 45,221 deaths in 2020 were gun-related, which is a 14% increase over the prior year and a 43% increase over a decade before. Overall, gun-related deaths constitute a majority of both homicides and suicides in the U.S.

After a trial in February, Schworck was convicted of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless endangerment and possession of a firearm by a person previously found delinquent for a shooting on West Main Street in Sun Prairie on Dec. 9, 2020.

Schworck used a semi-automatic handgun modified to fire automatically and equipped with an extended magazine to fire 38 rounds in two seconds at a vehicle occupied by a man who had a conflict with the driver of the car in which Schworck was a passenger.

Trentin G. Holsten, 20, who was driving the car Schworck was in, testified for the prosecution at Schworck’s trial and the day after Schworck was convicted, he received probation for his role in the shooting incident.

Reynolds sentenced Schworck to five years in prison, followed by 12 years of extended supervision for the attempted homicide conviction, with an additional one year in prison and one year of supervision for the gun possession conviction. She gave him a concurrent sentence for reckless endangerment.

Schworck’s time in prison will be shortened by about two years and four months he has spent in custody since his arrest.

Schworck

Arguing for an equitable sentence for Schworck, Jasti said Holsten had manipulated Schworck to get him to go to trial so that Holsten could then testify and get the deal that kept him from going to prison for his role in the shooting. Previously, Jasti said, Holsten had told Schworck that if Schworck went to trial, he would refuse to testify against Schworck.

“It was a setup,” Jasti said, “so he could get the benefit of the testimony that he had told Yeshua time and time again that he wouldn’t do.”

Jasti also faulted the driver of the other vehicle, the one that Schworck fired at, for precipitating the event with aggressive acts moments earlier that inflamed the conflict.

Deputy District Attorney William Brown argued the shooting deserved a longer sentence so that Schworck would be away from the public, like the people he endangered on the street in Sun Prairie, and his escalating behavior would be stopped until he is old enough to grow out of impulsiveness.

“I struggle to think of someone who has behaved as recklessly as this,” Brown said.

While nobody was hurt, Brown said, Schworck caused fear and trauma among those who were on the street that day and narrowly missed being struck by bullets. He said the public would continue to be endangered as long as Schworck is on the street.

Schworck said he has since learned what effect his actions had on others.

“At first I didn’t understand how serious this case really was because nobody got physically injured,” Schworck said. “I didn’t understand what PTSD was, and trauma.”

“I’d just like to say that I apologize to all the victims in this case and the community for what happened at the BP gas station in Sun Prairie on Dec. 9, 2020,” he said. “I learned that forgiveness is earned and not easily given so these next years I spend in prison, I’ll seek the remaining treatment I need to become a better human being.”

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Stacker cited data from the Gun Violence Archive to visualize the scope of mass shootings thus far in 2023. Data is as of April 17, 2023.

His co-defendant testified Wednesday, and on Friday entered into a plea deal that gave him probation.

One round that blew out the back window of a car narrowly missed the car's driver and his passenger, police said.

Police said a semi-automatic handgun modified to automatic sprayed at least 38 shots into a busy street.

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