Man accused of Harmon Park shooting pleads guilty to lesser charge

A man who was originally facing more than 11 years in prison for the shooting of another man in Harmon Park in August pleaded guilty to a lesser charge Wednesday after police did not locate a gun and were unable to conduct follow-up interviews with the victim.

Mason J. Bolton, 20, was suspected of shooting another man several times on Aug. 19 after an altercation, according to court records. Bolton was initially charged with first-degree assault with a firearm and had a $750,000 bond set.

But police never located a gun in Bolton’s possession and witnesses at the scene identified other possible suspects, said defense attorney Jocelyn Cook. She said the victim was also unwilling to talk to police after initial interviews.

“I think the state would have difficulty proving Mr. Bolton was the shooter” at trial, Cook said. “There was no clear ID of the shooter at all.”

Bolton told police he was with his girlfriend during the shooting, according to court records. The victim did not identify the shooter, while other people at the scene told police Bolton was the shooter.

The Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office amended Bolton’s charge to second-degree assault, and he was sentenced to six months of incarceration with credit for 84 days served.

Superior Court Judge John Cooney said he’d never seen a defendant plead guilty to shooting someone several times and serve such a short sentence. He said Bolton has previous convictions related to assault, domestic violence and malicious mischief.

Bolton said in court that he plans to change his behavior considering how he was facing serious charges and prison time last week.

“It pushed me to want to do better,” he said.

Cook said Bolton plans to work at Subway upon his release and apply for mechanic training.