From Omaha.com
2013-08-21 — Paul Mosher destroyed a house and nearly a life.
In July 2012, Mosher drove drunk, crashed into five parked cars, hit a curb and launched his 2009 Chevy Trailblazer into the house where Brooke Sutton was sleeping.
Mosher’s SUV barreled into Sutton’s bed, pushing her and her sleeping chihuahua into the backyard.
There, paramedics found Sutton alive but with multiple injuries — a broken shoulder, fractured ribs, a crushed vertebrae and a shattered ankle. She was hospitalized for two weeks, was in a body cast for months and has been in rehabilitation ever since. On top of that, she now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Mosher’s sentence for wreaking that havoc: three years’ probation.
Mosher, who pleaded no contest to driving drunk and causing serious bodily injury, faced up to five years in prison or five years of probation.
Douglas County District Judge Mark Ashford declined Monday to impose any upfront jail time — a penalty that often accompanies felony probation sentences.
Instead, the judge said he decided to give Mosher a choice: go to inpatient treatment immediately or go to prison. Mosher chose treatment.
“Quite frankly, I felt initially you should go to the penitentiary,” Ashford said. “It is an absolute miracle someone wasn’t killed.”
The probation sentence drew concern from Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine, though Kleine’s prosecutors did not ask for jail time ….MORE
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