A central Alberta farmer who shot a man stealing his ATV more than two years ago will serve 90 days in jail.
Brian Knight learned his sentence in a Red Deer courtroom Friday after pleading guilty to criminal negligence in January.
Knight chased and used a shot gun to fire at a man who was stealing Knight's ATV from his farm near Tees, Alta.
In the early morning of March 26, 2009, Knight found three men in his farmyard.
He jumped out of bed and gave chase clad in boxer shorts and rubber boots to a man riding Knight's all-terrain vehicle.
Knight rammed the ATV with his car and, when the man abondoned the machine and began running, Knight pulled out a shotgun, firing two rounds at him, police said.
The man was eventually caught after Knight called friends and relatives to help in the search, police said.
The Crown recommended Knight be sent to jail for 90 days to be served intermittently.
The prosecutor told the judge the shooting was a vigilante act and the court must send a message that behavior of this sort is wrong.
However Knight's lawyer argued the shooting was not a vigilante act, but a spontaneous reaction.
Knight did not shoot to the man to kill or hurt him, but merely wanted to scare him, his lawyer said.
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