Because of state sentencing laws that tie judges’ hands, a man who injured 11 people in a shooting outside a downtown bar will serve about three years in prison — a punishment one victim called a slap on the wrist.

Jason A. Tremble, 21, Topeka — a repeat offender with prior felony convictions — received a 40-month sentence Thursday for the Oct. 5 shooting outside It’s Brothers Bar & Grill, 1105 Mass.

Dist. Atty. Christine Kenney called the sentence unfair. Douglas County District Judge Paula Martin called Tremble’s actions egregious and said she wanted to sentence him to more time but couldn’t.

The reason: A law enacted about 10 years ago with the advent of Kansas’ criminal-sentencing guidelines caps the sentence a judge can impose in cases with multiple counts. In effect, Tremble received punishment for injuring only a handful of the 11 victims.

He was convicted of 11 counts of aggravated battery, plus being a felon in possession of a firearm and leaving the scene of an accident. If the sentences for each count had been strung back-to-back — which Martin said she had wanted to do — Tremble would have faced about 10 years in prison.

Tremble would have received 20 months for the first count of aggravated battery and 9 months for each additional aggravated battery count. But the law says a judge can’t sentence someone charged with multiple offenses to more than double the punishment for the most serious charge.

“I’m limited to 40 months,” Martin said. “If I could run all of these consecutively, I would.”

Kenney said Tremble’s case showed the flaws of Kansas’ sentencing guidelines. The guidelines — based on a grid that combines a defendant’s criminal history with the severity of the crime — were created to promote “truth in sentencing” statewide, but critics say they’re inflexible.

“With sentencing guidelines, you basically took the discretion away from the individual who should have the discretion, and that is the judge,” Kenney said. “Now where you have it is with the prosecutor either making the charging decision or during the plea negotiation.”

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Assistant Dist. Atty. Dave Zabel tried in October to upgrade two of the aggravated battery charges against Tremble from level 8 felonies to level 5 felonies. He argued that two of the victims had suffered “great bodily harm,” the damage required to prove the more serious charge.

But before that could happen, Tremble pleaded guilty to all counts. Despite Zabel’s objections, Martin said she was legally required to accept the plea.

Had Tremble been convicted of a level 5 felony, he would be facing about 10 years in prison.

Tremble didn’t address the court Thursday. Defense attorney Jessica Kunen said her client didn’t intend to hurt anyone when he fired the gunshots into the pavement.

“He was showing off for his friends and behaving stupidly,” Kunen said.

The only victim to speak at the sentencing was Tiana Sanders, 26, Topeka, who told Martin she still had numbness from a wound in her hand. She also was struck in the leg.

“I just feel he got a slap on the wrist,” Sanders said afterward.

Tremble has prior convictions for obstruction, possession of opiates or narcotics, aggravated assault and aggravated battery, Zabel said. At the time of the shooting, he was on probation in Shawnee County for the drug and obstruction charges and also will have to serve a 30-month sentence for those charges.