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St. Helens man sentenced to more than 13 years in prison for attempted murder
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ST. HELENS — Gene Christofferson, 22, will spend the next 13.5 years in prison, as ordered by Columbia County Circuit Court Judge Steve Reed.
The sentencing hearing on Sept. 24 was the final step in bringing a three- year attempted murder case to a close.
In July, a Columbia County jury found the St. Helens resident guilty of the attempted murder of William Mahon. He was also convicted on one count of assault in the first degree, three counts of burglary in the first degree and one count of recklessly endangering another person, Mahon’s then eight-year-old son.
On Oct. 28, 2006, Christofferson shot at William Mahon repeatedly, hitting the man seven times in an attempt to get Mahon to leave the teen's girlfriend alone. That night, Mahon was at his home on Cobblestone Road in Scappoose with his two children, a daughter, 10 and a son, 8, when Christofferson fired a .22 rifle through a sliding glass door and stepped inside, firing several rounds. Seven shots hit Mahon, and in the months to follow, four of those bullets were removed. Three remain in the man’s body. Mahon spent 40 days in the hospital following the shooting, and a number of surgeries followed the shooting.
Attempted murder and assault in the first degree are both felonies that fall under Oregon’s Measure 11 mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines. The minimum sentence for each crime is 90 months.
District Attorney R. Stephen Atchison asked the judge to consolidate the three burglary charges and sentence for one, attaching a minimum sentence of 60 months for burglary committed with a firearm.
The final charge, recklessly endangering another, is a misdemeanor, and carries a 12 month county jail sentence, which, by Atchison’s admission, Christofferson has served, three times over, while waiting for trial.
Before court began, Christofferson made a statement. “I feel that I reached my [obligation] in isolation and I would like to get this over with.” He also said he was sorry.
When Carter made a motion for a mistrial declaration and new trial, based on a defense motion made and denied prior to the start of trial, based on the defendant’s lack of capacity, Judge Steven Reed denied the motion, and during the judge’s statement, Christofferson spoke again.
“Mr. Carter, your motion is denied based on [the record created prior to trial]. This includes two visits [to the Oregon State Hospital] where your client was found able to assist in his trial.”
“I’m not gonna put up with it again,” Christofferson said.
After several statements by Christofferson, during some of which his attorney spoke over him, Reed addressed the young man and told him that he could be removed from the court if he continued to speak out of turn. He quieted down, and the hearing continued.
During the hour-long hearing, the young man spoke several times, but only once was his contribution to the hearing allowed by the judge.
Prior to Reed’s announcement of the sentence, Christofferson’s victim, William Mahon, and others were allowed to speak.
Mahon’s statements, as well as the statements of Christina Dunning, mother of Mahon’s children, who witnessed the shooting, focused on the children and how this has affected their lives.
“My family’s definitely been harmed. My daughter and my son were scared to be in their own home. I had to go upstairs with them to ensure that no one else was there and even that wasn’t enough. You have no idea what you’ve done to my children for the rest of their lives,” Mahon said.
“My kids are really messed up because of this,” Dunning said. “Every night as we go to bed, my son talks about when the shooter is coming and they talk about which way they’ll run.”
“I totally believe Gene’s not crazy. It’s all a game to him,” Mahon continued. “Gene knows what he’s doing, what he’s done. You have hurt everybody. It doesn’t matter what you think, what you did is wrong.”
Christofferson spoke up again, during Mahon’s statements.
“I feel that I have fulfilled my obligations,” Christofferson said. Responding to Mahon’s statement that he knew Christofferson "would try to act crazy," the young man asked a question. “How else was I supposed to win?”
Janice Faltersack, a Victim’s Advocate for the state, working out of the Columbia County District Attorney’s office also addressed the courts, regarding Mahon’s medical bills and restitution.
According to Faltersack, Emanuel Hospital wrote off nearly $195,000 in costs related to Mahon’s medical care.
She stated that the Crime Victim’s Compensation Board made a $20,000 blanket payment to Emanuel Hospital on Mahon’s behalf, but that there was some confusion as to how much of that money should have been directed to the man’s physical therapy.
“If we can release some of that $20,000, he can have a pin [that restricts his movement] removed from his arm,” Faltersack said.
Reed granted the state 90 days to settle on a figure for restitution. At that time, a hearing will be held to determine restitution.
Defense attorney Lee Carter did not argue about the length of the first two charges, or the last, but focused his argument on whether those charges could be consecutive, meaning that one sentence is imposed when the previous has been carried out, or concurrent, where the time served applies to more than one charge.
“I don’t presume to justify his actions, only to [ask that the court consider these mitigating factors:] his youth, the absence of a criminal record or any experience with law enforcement in regard to a very very ill-conceived response to some romantic involvement,” defense attorney Lee Carter said. Carter objected to the language of the mandatory gun minimum, saying that although it’s a minimum, “it’s not mandatory for first-time offenders.”
Christofferson spoke next.
“Your honorable,” he began. “While I’m healthy and feeling healthy, the gun has been taken and I feel I may have faced my addictions while sitting in the hole for the past two years, one-and-a-half years, quiet.”
This was the entirety of Christofferson’s allowed statement.
Judge Steven Reed sentenced Christofferson to 90 months in an Oregon prison on the charge of attempted murder and 90 months on the charge of assault in the first degree. In pronouncing this sentence, Reed said the only leeway he had was to determine whether these sentences would be served concurrently or consecutively. “These have to run concurrently, I don’t think I have any choice,” he said.
“I’m a good guy,” Christofferson said, in the middle of Reed’s announcement.
“I disagree. Not in my book, you’re not,” Reed answered, before continuing.
On counts three and five, burglary in the first degree, Reed sentenced the young man to 36 months, but on the fourth count, Reed imposed a 60 month minimum, for use of a firearm in the commission of a burglary. These charges will run as concurrent sentences to each other, but in relation to the attempted murder and assault charges, the sentences are consecutive, meaning that they will run one after the other. Reed also sentenced Christofferson to 12 months on the final charge, a misdemeanor, recklessly endangering another person.
In all, Christofferson was sentenced to 162 months in prison.
For more on this story, see Christofferson guilty of 2006 attempted murder.
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