Parking Lot Assailant Gets Six Months, Probation Withheld Judgment ‘Slap On The Wrist,’ Says Victim, Who Was Kicked In The Head

Robert Schrader had simply gone to the supermarket to pick up a bag of dog food.

He wound up with five broken teeth, bruises on his head, and powers of memory his wife and kids say aren’t what they used to be.

Larry Hannaman, 21, a University of Idaho student, was convicted of hitting Schrader with a bottle of “Red Dog” beer and kicking Schrader’s head as he lay unconscious in front of the Coeur d’Alene Safeway store on Feb. 21, 1996.

Hannaman was sentenced Monday to six months in jail. He also must pay restitution of $3,755 for Schrader’s medical bills.

District Court Judge Gary Haman withheld a more serious felony judgment, instead giving Hannaman four years of supervised probation.

Hannaman also faces sentencing in Latah County on April 16 in a separate misdemeanor battery charge stemming from a Sept. 4 incident in a Moscow motel room.

From the witness stand Monday, Schrader voiced empathy for his attacker, saying he “wished this never would have happened, and that everything was OK for you and for me.”

But afterward, Schrader said he was left feeling empty from what he considered a relatively light sentence. Hannaman had faced a maximum 15-year prison term.

“I was hoping for a little more than what he got,” said Schrader. He was joined by his wife, three of his four children, and about a dozen friends in the courtroom.

“The withheld judgment was a slap on the wrist,” Schrader said. “I don’t know if he’ll learn his lesson.”

It was a near-collision in the icy supermarket parking lot between Schrader and a car driven by Larry Hannaman’s brother, Ray, that touched off the attack.

In an interview prior to Monday’s hearing, Schrader said he simply wanted to tell the driver of the other car to slow down when he got out of his own car. Schrader said the passenger window of the auto Larry Hannaman was riding in was boarded up with cardboard, creating dangerous driving conditions.

“I was yelling, but I wasn’t furious,” said Schrader, 40, a volunteer member of the Coeur d’Alene Little League Baseball Board. “When somebody got out of the passenger side of the car, I still didn’t feel threatened. The next thing you know, the guy hit me.” , But what really hurt, Schrader said, is that Hannaman kicked him as he lay bleeding on the ice. When Schrader regained consciousness several minutes later, Hannaman had fled and paramedics had just arrived.

Schrader and his family moved to Coeur d’Alene 16 years ago to escape worsening crime in Richland, Wash. His wife, Julie, said her children now fear for their dad every time he leaves home. Schrader couldn’t walk for several weeks following the attack. Even now, he forgets little things, Julie Schrader said.

“It’s put a strain on our family,” she said. “(Larry Hannaman) does have a problem with his anger, and I think it needs to be addressed. Not just for our family, but for everyone else.”

Drew Grieb, a 22-year-old student at North Idaho College, watched Monday’s hearings with particular interest. Hannaman is scheduled to be sentenced for a Sept. 4 attack on Grieb in Moscow, Idaho. For that incident, Hannaman pleaded guilty to reduced charges of misdemeanor battery.

Hannaman had been accused of entering Grieb’s room at the Hillcrest Motel, threatening Grieb with a baseball bat, and beating the North Idaho College sophomore on his face. That attack apparently was spurred by jealousy over Hannaman’s girlfriend.

“I was beaten pretty badly,” Grieb said. “I think it definitely shows a pattern of violence.”

Defense attorney Fred Loats told Judge Haman during the hearing that he and Hannaman objected to conclusions an investigator made in the pre-sentencing report.

“I firmly believe it wasn’t the completely vicious assault the prosecution would have you believe,” Loats said. “I believe (Hannaman) lost his temper.”

In a tearful statement, Larry Hannaman turned to Schrader and apologized, telling him “I knew I was wrong the moment after I hit you. It was just an awful feeling.”

Hannaman then turned back to the judge.

“I’m ready to take my punishment, sir,” he said, weeping. “I’m asking you to give me one last chance.”

Judge Haman did just that, leaving open the option for Hannaman to serve at least a portion of his six-month sentence in an education-release program that would allow the electrical engineering major to complete the semester.

, DataTimes