33-year sentence for man who shot grandson

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE -- David Bayless sat hunched in his wheelchair as a judge sentenced him to 33 years to life in prison for shooting his grandson in the back with a shotgun.

No one spoke on Bayless' behalf and both attorneys kept statements short.

In January, a jury found Bayless, 72, guilty of unlawful possession of a gun, assault with a firearm causing great bodily injury and mayhem with special circumstances. He was given a year of jail credit plus 54 days from conduct credit at Wednesday's sentencing.

Due to his poor medical condition, Bayless will likely be sent to a hospital prison.

Bayless, a felon, shot his grandson Joshua Stone in the back during a night of drinking in his apartment during summer 2001. The defense claimed Bayless shot Stone to stop him from assaulting Donna Shevock, Bayless' neighbor. An angry Stone had thrown her out the apartment.

Stone, who was visiting his grandfather for the first time, is confined to a wheelchair and is receiving rehabilitation care in Illinois. Four lead shotgun pellets remain in his back.

Deputy Public Defender Simon Harvey said his client did not intend to kill Stone only maim him and thus aimed low. Anthony Sears, deputy district attorney, contended that Bayless simply could have shot away from Stone to scare him off Shevock.

El Dorado County Superior Court Judge Jerald Lasarow said "(Bayless) exercised, and I'm sure he's aware of it, the world's worst judgment."

Bayless was convicted in 1977 for a lewd act with a minor and in 1988 statutory sexual abduction. He also received jail time in 1959 for petty theft. In 1962, he was convicted of vehicular manslaughter.