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Former Michigan firefighter who shot at black teen gets 4 years in prison

Posted at 9:55 AM, Nov 13, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-13 09:55:21-05

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A white retired firefighter has been sentenced to at least four years in prison for shooting at a black teenager who came to his suburban Detroit home asking for directions to school.

Jeffrey Zeigler apologized before he was sentenced Tuesday in Oakland County court. A jury convicted him last month of assault and a gun crime.

Fourteen-year-old Brennan Walker wasn’t hurt. He told police he missed a school bus on April 12 and knocked on Zeigler’s door in Rochester Hills after getting lost. He ran after seeing a man inside the house grab a gun.

The 53-year-old Zeigler says he woke up to his wife’s screams and that she believed someone was trying to break into their home.

He’ll be eligible for parole after four years.