The Buckland man convicted of the attempted murder of village police officer Lorin B Geary received a sentence of 50 years with 20 years suspended after a six-hour hearing on Monday.

40-year-old Buckland resident, Gary A Ballot, was sentenced by Judge P. Roetman in Kotzebue court on three counts. On count one, Attempted Murder in the First-Degree, Ballot received 28.5 years. On count two, Assault in the Third Degree, he received a one-year flat to run consecutively. On count three, Ballot received a flat sentence of six months with a $10,000 fine.

It was during the morning hours of Friday, July 26, 2013 that Village Police Officer Geary received a tip that Ballot was importing alcohol into the local option village of Buckland. Geary went to the beach early that morning to intercept Ballot as he was coming ashore in his boat.

When Geary confronted Ballot as he exited his boat, Ballot shot the village police officer. Buckland village residents, upon hearing the commotion on the beach, responded to the waterfront and took Ballot’s firearm away from him and placed him into custody. Geary was flown to Anchorage where he underwent surgery at the Alaska Native Medical Center.

During his citizens arrest, Ballot received unspecified injuries which he received medical attention for after being flown to Kotzebue. Doctors at the Maniilaq Medical Center cleared Ballot of any injuries and he was transported to the Kotzebue Regional Jail. His bail was set at $250,000 cash and a court-approved third-party at his arraignment the next day.

According to investigators, Ballot had imported 7.5 L of distilled spirits, 18.8 gallons of malt beverage, and 5.25 L of wine. Ballot’s boat and four-wheeler along with a trailer were seized.

At one o’clock in the afternoon on August 2, 2013, a Grand Jury convened in Kotzebue. Three hours later that jury returned with a nine count indictment against Ballot. At that time Ballot was indicted with Attempted Murder I, Assault I, Assault III x5, Alcohol Importation into a Local Option Area, Escape II, MIW IV, Resisting Arrest x2, and Alcohol Importation x2.

As a result of the “guilty” pleas by Ballot in a plea agreement in September of 2013, 12 of the 15 counts were disposed. Ballots formal jail term ends in 2044.