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Schueller sentenced to four years in prison

Judge: 'You keep falling into a pattern of behavior'
June 13, 2014

Shot in the back while fleeing police in 2013, Keith Schueller was sentenced to four years of prison June 13 in Sussex County Superior Court.

"You put other people in fear of their lives," said Superior Court T. Henley Graves, referring to the 2013 incident when Schueller led police on a car chase before crashing into another car and running across a field followed by police. Prosecutor Peggy Marshall said Schueller picked up a shovel or a broom and swung it at a pursuing officer; the officer fired a bullet that remains in Schueller's back.

Dressed in a blue polo with white stripes and khaki pants, a clean-cut Schueller limped to the podium during his sentencing. He needed to sit after about five minutes of standing.

Schueller was brief as he addressed the court.

"I put myself in this position, I understand," he said. "I feel horrible for the people who were hurt."

Schueller was charged with several burglary and theft charges after the police chase that left him shot in the back. After the shooting, he was transported to Christiana Hospital; paramedics later told his mother, Martie Owers, that they thought they lost him three times, Owers said.

A wheelchair bound Schueller was sent to solitary confinement at Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna after his release from Christiana Hospital. He spent 140 days in custody before he was released on bond.

Despite testimony from several people in support of Schueller, Graves sentenced him to four years in prison with time served for his felony resisting arrest charge.

"The problem is that you keep falling into a pattern of behavior," Graves said. "This time it resulted in consequences that will affect the rest of your life."

In April, Schueller pleaded guilty to felony resisting arrest, third-degree burglary, disregard police officer's signal, theft of services and shoplifting.

Immediately after sentencing, Schueller was handcuffed and taken to Sussex Correctional Institution.

 

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