A man who allegedly shot a woman in her Lakeview apartment hours after she broke up with him in June 2019 has been sentenced to eight years in prison.
George Barnett, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of home invasion in a plea deal with prosecutors. The state dropped seven felonies in the bargain, including two counts of attempted murder, according to court records.
After Barnett was arrested, prosecutors said the woman broke up with him when she saw text messages from another woman on his phone while they were bowling on the evening of July 28, 2019.
She and two friends left the bowling alley and returned to the girlfriend’s home on the 400 block of West Briar. Barnett showed up there early the following day and forced his way in while armed with a handgun, prosecutors alleged.
He allegedly assaulted the woman in her fifth-floor apartment, grabbed her by the throat, and fired the gun at one point, grazing the girlfriend’s back.
One of the friends who had been bowling earlier escaped to the building’s laundry room and called the police. Officers found Barnett holding a handgun in one of the building’s stairwells, according to CPD records. They also located two shell casings in the girlfriend’s apartment.
Barnett worked as an accountant and did not have any criminal history at the time. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Notre Dame.
Judge Domenica Stephenson oversaw the case. Barnett will receive credit for 938 days he spent in jail before she sentenced him.
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