Appellate court upholds Lockwood man's 75-year sentence for shootings at Prairie Mountain Screening

The Missouri Southern District Court of Appeals upheld the 75-year sentence of a Lockwood man who shot at three people and seriously injured the owner and an employee at Prairie Mountain Screening August 1, 2016.

Caleb Zane Eccher, 25, said his verdict should be overturned because he relied on his lawyer's advice that he would receive 25 years in prison if he pleaded guilty. Eccher's appellate attorney claimed his client has mild autism which might have kept him from fully understanding there was a chance he would receive a more severe sentence.

The appellate panel rejected that argument, noting that the doctor who said Eccher was autistic also said he was capable of understanding what was going on and able to help in his own defense.

Eccher's attorney also claimed the sentence given to his client was cruel and unusual punishment, especially considering that Eccher was only 20 at the time the crimes were committed.

The appellate panel noted defendants are not guaranteed release during their natural lives.

Those who commit truly horrifying nonhomicide crimes may be irredeemable and thus deserving of incarceration for the duration of their lives.

Eccher's crimes were described in the opinion: 

Eccher was driving to work when he noticed a vehicle driven by Donald Hembree, a former co-worker against whom Eccher bore a grudge. 

Eccher pursued Hembree’s vehicle until it stopped. Eccher got out of his vehicle, took his already-loaded shotgun and shot at Hembree’s vehicle six times. Hembree drove away, eventually stopping at his workplace. 

Eccher pursued Hembree, reloaded, and fired two more shots at Hembree as he fled into the workplace. The shots missed Hembree but struck a bystander, Krista Gerster. 

Eccher then went around to the other side of the building, where he saw Michael Galer kneeling on the ground. Eccher shot Galer in the neck. Gerster was hospitalized for several days and would have shotgun pellets still embedded in her chest cavity years later. 

Galer thought he was going to die. Surgeons worked for 15 hours to keep him alive, removed bullet fragments from his chest and spine, and stabilized his neck with titanium rods. He spent 17 days in the ICU and eight months in a rehabilitation hospital. 

Eccher’s attack left Galer a quadripalegic who will require constant care for the rest of his life. 

Eccher was charged with seven felonies: two counts of first-degree assault with serious physical injuries (class A felonies), one count of attempted first-degree assault (class B felony), unlawful use of a weapon, and three counts of armed criminal action (“ACA”). 

The state offered to recommend an aggregate 90-year sentence if Eccher pleaded guilty, which Eccher rejected. Nonetheless, Eccher and his attorney supposed that a guilty plea would result in more lenient sentencing and concurrent sentences rather than consecutive. 

On the day his trial was scheduled to begin, Eccher entered an open guilty plea on all seven counts. 

At the sentencing hearing, the court heard from the victims, their families, Eccher, his family, and others. Before pronouncing sentence, the court expressly stated it had considered the “very comprehensive,” 17-page sentencing assessment report, Eccher’s personal and family history, and Eccher’s mental issues. 

Eccher was sentenced to 30 years for each class A felony assault and 15 years for the class B felony assault, with each sentence to run consecutively. Eccher received 10 years for each ACA and 15 years for unlawful use of a weapon, all running concurrently with his other sentences. 

By application of § 558.019.3,1 Eccher, who was 20 at the time he committed his crimes, will not be eligible for parole consideration until he is 70 years old.2