Couple sentenced to prison for Valentine’s Day road-rage shooting

A couple will go to prison for a Valentine’s Day road-rage shooting last year in Kootenai County.

Patrick J. Coffey, 48, was sentenced this month to 20 years in prison with parole eligibility after 10 years. A jury convicted him of shooting at an occupied vehicle and aggravated assault, according to a Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office news release. Carolina Silva, 44, was sentenced in November to seven years in prison and is eligible for parole after two years.

The shooting stemmed from the evening of Feb. 14, 2024, when Coffey and Silva tailgated a vehicle before passing the car and slamming on their brakes, nearly causing a crash, the prosecutor’s office said. A third driver saw the erratic driving and flashed their headlights at the defendants’ vehicle to get them to stop driving recklessly.

The defendants then tailgated the third driver with their high beams on, according to the release. The driver pulled over and allowed the defendants to pass. The defendants also pulled over along the side of the road and got out of the vehicle.

Coffey then told Silva, who was armed, to shoot at the driver, so she fired several rounds at the driver’s vehicle as it passed by, the release said. No one was injured.

Coffey was also convicted of being a “persistent violator,” or repeat offender, meaning his prison sentence had to be at least five years, prosecutors said. Silva had no criminal history.

District Judge Barbara Duggan sentenced the couple.