Jury Convicts Man Of Attempted Murder Of Neighbor Peter Welp Faces 13 To 17 Years In Prison For Shooting Woman

A violent neighbor who wounded a Spokane woman following an argument last winter will spend 13 to 17 years in prison.

After more than six hours of deliberations Friday and Monday, a Superior Court jury found Peter Welp, 34, guilty of second-degree attempted murder for wounding Norma Bratton.

The six-man, six-woman jury reached that verdict after being unable to convict Welp of first-degree attempted murder.

Premeditation is the key element of first-degree attempted murder.

Bratton, 37, was wounded by at least one of the four shots Welp fired from his gun Jan. 11 as the two yelled insults at each other outside their homes.

Bratton and Welp lived next to each other in the 3500 block of East Olympic.

Defense attorney Steven Reich told jurors in closing arguments last week that Welp was wrong to shoot Bratton but didn’t act with advance planning.

“It’s clear they could not agree on that issue of premeditation,” Reich said after the verdict was read.

“It’s a hard verdict to reach, with all 12 having to agree on premeditation,” he said.

Premeditation, according to the law, involves planning lasting “more than a moment in time.”

To convict Welp of second-degree attempted murder, jurors only had to find intent to commit the crime.

If sentenced within the standard range, Welp will serve 13 to 17 years for the crime. The range for first-degree attempted murder is 20 to 25 years in prison. During last week’s trial, jurors learned that Bratton had called police on Christmas Eve to report that Welp stole a car battery belonging to her mother.

That event aggravated an already tense situation, jurors learned, culminating in Welp’s wounding Bratton with at least one high-powered gunshot as she was holding a garage sale at her home.

Welp told police after the shooting that he tried to kill Bratton. During the trial, Welp testified he merely tried to scare her.

After leaving court Monday, Bratton said she would not comment until Welp’s sentencing next month.

Bratton limped to and from the courtroom relying on a crutch because of the bullet wound in her lower back and leg. Doctors found only one clear entry wound but two exit wounds.

She spent three months in a hospital after the attack. Her 35-year-old husband, Steve Bratton, died in the hospital waiting room about a week after the shooting.

, DataTimes