photo by: Douglas County Sheriff's Office

Brandon Andrew Harry Seepersad

A Lawrence man avoided prison on Thursday after a Douglas County judge suspended his sentence to probation after he was convicted of threatening with a gun a tow truck driver who was towing his vehicle.

A jury found Brandon Andrew Harry Seepersad, 27, guilty of one count of aggravated assault with a firearm in February. The charge relates to an incident on March 27, 2021, in the 1000 block of Emery Road, as the Journal-World reported.

On Thursday, Judge Amy Hanley sentenced Seepersad to 13 months in prison but suspended that to 24 months of probation.

The conviction for a felony committed with a firearm comes with a mandatory prison sentence, according to state law, but a judge can deviate from that sentence if she finds compelling circumstances.

Seepersad’s attorney, Shaye Downing, argued that Seepersad has no criminal history, is employed, has always appeared in court and is not a risk to the community. She said that he no longer owned any firearms and had been attending regular counseling since the incident.

Assistant District Attorney Christen Secrest objected to probation and said that Seepersad never took responsibility for his actions and that he only went to trial in an effort to keep his right to own a gun. Secrest said a letter from the tow truck driver stated that the driver had to quit his job and is constantly worried that he will be attacked.

Hanley asked about plea negotiations that occurred before the trial, and Secrest said that if Seepersad would have taken a plea deal the state might have supported a departure to probation but that since Seepersad took the case to trial it was clear that he had no remorse for his actions.

Downing said that the court should not punish Seepersad for exercising his right to go to trial and the idea that the only way to avoid prison was to accept a plea deal was unreasonable.

“If this whole thing is about taking a plea to show that you’re sorry, then we are doing it wrong,” Downing said.

Hanley ultimately granted the probation and ordered Seepersad to get a new mental health evaluation and to undergo any mental health treatment recommendations from the evaluation or from his probation officer.