Man Gets 15 Years For Shooting Neighbor Altercation Over His Alleged Theft Of Battery Led To ‘Suffering And Heartache,’ Says Judge

A Spokane man who shot and wounded a neighbor, putting a violent end to a nasty feud, was sentenced to 15 years in prison Friday.

Peter Welp, 34, was convicted last month of second-degree attempted murder.

At the sentencing hearing, the logger and father of four apologized to the neighbor, Norma Bratton, 37. He shot her with a bolt-action rifle outside their homes on Jan. 11.

Welp, who had no prior criminal record, had been accused of stealing the battery belonging to Bratton’s mother’s car. Bratton’s mother lived next door to Welp on the 3500 block of East Olympia.

Accused of a theft he insists never happened, Welp testified at trial that his relationship with Bratton soon grew ugly.

“You’ve heard of highway rage. This was a case of neighbor rage,” said Welp’s attorney, Steven Reich.

The day of the shooting, Welp shouted angrily at Bratton as he prepared to drive to work.

Welp testified he felt threatened when Bratton and her brother, Jerry Brown, approached.

Welp grabbed the rifle from his truck and fired several shots in Bratton’s direction. Police say two bullets struck her, one in the hip, the other in the leg.

She spent three months recovering from the wounds. She also lost her husband. Days after the shooting, Steve Bratton, 35, died in a hospital waiting room, apparently choking to death on food.

Norma Bratton now needs a cane to walk.

“He crippled me for life, and he had no reason to shoot me,” she told Judge Salvatore Cozza during the sentencing.

Welp’s common-law wife, Jane Miller, pleaded for leniency, saying, “Who knew this would have led to what happened?”

She then turned toward Norma Bratton and said, “I’m very sorry.”

Bratton replied: “You’ll get him back some day. I won’t get my husband back.”

The 15-year sentence is the upper end of the sentencing range for second-degree attempted murder.

Deputy Prosecutor Mark Lindsay recommended the sentence, saying the reckless shooting shattered the Bratton family.

Cozza agreed. With Welp standing in front of him, the judge said: “There’s been nothing but sadness that flows from this business. Suffering and heartache will follow both these families for the rest of their lives.”

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