GASTONIA, N.C. — A Houston man is getting 30 months of supervised probation after being shot while raising his gun at a Gastonia police officer in a Buffalo Wild Wings parking lot last summer.
James Roberts entered an Alford plea Monday afternoon for felony assault with a deadly weapon on a government official.
In his Alford plea, Roberts didn't admit to committing a crime, but he acknowledged prosecutors have enough evidence to convince a judge or jury to convict him.
Last August, Roberts got into an argument with family members inside the Buffalo Wild Wings off Cox Road in Gastonia.
He then went outside to his car and pulled out a gun.
In an August interview with WCNC Charlotte, Keith Collins said he had just finished dinner with his son and a friend when he spotted Roberts in his car.
"He stuck the gun in his mouth," Collins said. "I started screaming at him, 'No don't do that! Don't do that!'"
Collins ran back inside the restaurant, where employees locked the doors as police pulled into the parking lot.
District Attorney Locke Bell said body camera footage showed a Gastonia Police officer screaming at Roberts to put his gun down at least 20 times.
"The defendant then asked the officer, 'Do you have family?' He says, 'I'm going to kill your family," Bell said. "At this point, the defendant said more words, and the defendant started bringing the gun up."
Bell said the officer fired his gun and hit Roberts.
Shortly after the shooting, Bell determined the officer was justified in shooting Roberts.
As part of a plea deal, Roberts will serve 30 months of supervised probation so he can get mental health treatment
Matthew Hawkins, Roberts' public defender, said his client served in the Texas National Guard, and he was deployed to several war-torn countries.
Hawkins said on the night of the shooting, Roberts was dealing with a lot of personal issues, and he said Roberts only intended to harm himself.
"It was a very sad and emotional situation," Hawkins said. "Everybody says, 'it's just very anti-Jimmy; just not what he's about,' and I certainly think that he would say the same thing today."
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