Man Sentenced For Killing Noisy Neighbor Price Gets 7-1/2 Years For Shooting Woman In The Back With Shotgun

It came down to an argument over who was responsible for Megan Winebrenner’s death - she and her friends, or the man next door who fired a shotgun at them as they charged across his lawn.

A Spokane judge Thursday put the blame squarely on Adrian “Al” Price, sending the gun-wielding neighbor to prison for 7-1/2 years.

Price, 49, pleaded guilty last month to first-degree manslaughter in the predawn shooting last December that killed Winebrenner and injured party guest Gary Santoro.

The shotgun blast followed a nasty confrontation between Price and people attending a Christmas party at Winebrenner’s house in the 1300 block of East Bridgeport.

A shouting match over loud rap music being played at the party and a car parked in front of Price’s house escalated into curses, threats and - ultimately - Winebrenner and several friends charging Price.

Defense attorney James Sheehan argued Thursday that Winebrenner’s death wasn’t totally Price’s fault.

Sheehan asked Spokane County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Kato to impose a three-year sentence - less than half the minimum recommended under sentencing guidelines in such cases.

People attending Winebrenner’s party that night threatened to “kick Al’s ass,” cursed him and eventually jumped a fence and rushed him, Sheehan said.

Price said he feared for his life and that of his elderly mother, who lives with him. He dashed inside, grabbed his sawed-off shotgun and stepped into the front yard to confront Winebrenner, 19, and her friends.

“He doesn’t know what these kids are planning to do,” Sheehan told the judge. “Those folks had no right to come over that fence. What’s he supposed to do? It wasn’t just Al’s fault.”

Sheehan contended the gun went off accidentally as Price raised it to his shoulder to fire a warning shot. Winebrenner and Santoro were hit in their backs when they turned to run.

Price, a truck driver who has been in jail since the Dec. 26 shooting, said he’s sorry Winebrenner was killed and said he wishes he could trade places with her.

“If I could, I would,” he said. “I’d bring her back in a heartbeat.”

But Price also blamed Winebrenner’s friends. If it wasn’t for them, he said, “Megan would be alive today.”

Deputy Prosecutor Dannette Allen disagreed and recommended Price be sentenced to 5-1/2 to 7-1/2 years in prison.

“Mr. Price had choices. He had the choice and the opportunity to disengage, to disengage from the situation,” Allen said.

Price should have locked his door and waited for the police to arrive, she said.

Kato agreed. If Price was so scared, he should have taken his chances at trial by claiming self-defense, the judge said.

James Winebrenner, the woman’s father, called his daughter a “true rose in every sense of the word” and Price “a thorn in the side of humanity.”

The victim was a gentle woman who dreamed of having children and once rushed an injured mouse to a veterinary clinic for treatment, her father said. He appeared in court wearing a sweatshirt with a photograph of his daughter emblazoned on it.

“Mr. Price not only killed my daughter, but a piece of everyone who knew her,” he said, tears streaking his face. “Something has to be done with thorns like this, to keep them off the streets.”

, DataTimes