Carson River shooter goes to prison

The Carson City man who shot a woman and left her for dead at the Carson River in June was sentenced to up to 20 years in prison today.

On June 12, Miguel Barajas-Zarate, 31, drove friend Ashley Fortune, 21, to the river off Brunswick Canyon Road saying he wanted to dump old tires, according to court records.

Once there he shot her in the back and beat her in the head with a rock, leaving her with a skull fracture. Investigators surmised the assault was revenge for a small amount of money Barajas-Zarate believed Fortune stole from him.

A passerby happened upon a bloodied Fortune trying to crawl out of the brush two hours later.

Fortune survived her injuries but is still recovering from the skull fracture, said Assistant District Attorney Gerald Gardner.

Barajas-Zarate fled in Fortune's vehicle, which he discarded in the parking lot of the old K-Mart on North Carson Street before making his way by bus to Wenatchee, Wash., where his brother lives.

He was arrested in a cherry orchard there after officers stopped a vehicle driven by Barajas-Zarate's brother and they found Barajas-Zarate hunkered down in the back seat.

He pleaded guilty to attempted murder in December. '

Judge Todd Russell sentenced Barajas-Zarate to five to 20 years in prison this morning in Carson City District Court.