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SALT LAKE CITY — Brad Hancock was just starting to live the life his family had always imagined for him when it was taken from him.
Fatherhood had transformed the 24-year-old, his stepfather, Chad Kihlstrom, told a judge Tuesday. In the year since his son's birth and as he prepared to marry his girlfriend of several years, Hancock appeared to have set aside the troubles of his past and instead revelled in supporting his blossoming young family.
"He had become the man that we were looking forward to him being," Kihlstrom said, calling it "unbearable" to see that prospect ripped away so soon.
Hancock, a singer and concert promoter, died Nov. 15, 2014, of a gunshot wound to the head by a man police say he had ejected from the venue where his band was playing. It was believed the man had been picking a fight with Hancock's younger brother.
The shooter, 21-year-old Quincy Earl Lawson, of Magna, pleaded guilty in March to a reduced charge of manslaughter, a second-degree felony, calling the shooting self-defense.
But Lawson didn't just fire once or without aiming, prosecutor Jared Rasband emphasized. The young man who was known to post photos online of himself with firearms and aspired to "the gangster lifestyle" unloaded six shots toward Hancock, Rasband said.
In addition to the three bullets that struck Hancock, his bandmate, Josh Nemcek, was hit once in the foot, according to the charges. Lawson fled, disposing of the gun that has never been found, and was arrested several hours later in Nephi.
Lawson was originally charged with first-degree felony murder. An additional charge of obstructing justice and five counts of felony discharge of a firearm were dismissed as part of the agreement. He was sentenced Tuesday to serve one to 15 years in prison for the shooting.
Lawson's lawyer, Rudy Bautista, said the young man had been "backed into a corner" and acted in fear when he shot Hancock, who had thrown a large piece of broken concrete at him and missed.
It's a decision Bautista says his client wishes he could take back.
"Looking back in time, he wishes he would have taken a beating than be in the situation that it's in," Bautista said.
Bautista went on to speculate that, considering the weight and size of the projectile, a blow to Lawson's head could have left Hancock facing murder or manslaughter charges. The attorney asked for a year in jail and an extended probation for Lawson, who has been in custody since the shooting.
"To me, it was clear there was a level of self-defense," Bautista said.
Lawson's cousin, Cody Wentland, was also at the concert and said Hancock was the aggressor that night, while Lawson put his hands up and tried to walk away.
"I feel like he was forced to defend himself," Wentland said.
When he visited his cousin in jail, Wentland said Lawson shared his regret over the shooting.
"He said he felt he was put into a position where he had no choice but to do what he did because he was afraid," Wentland said.
Saying she was acting "in spite of 'what ifs,'" 3rd District Judge Ann Boyden handed down the maximum sentence allowed for the second-degree felony conviction.
"Mr. Lawson, it is clear that the only fair and just (sentence) in this case is the prison sentence provided by law," Boyden said, offering condolences to both families involved in the case.
As Hancock's family mourned, so did Lawson's. His mother, Jenny Lawson, told the judge that she, too, has lost a son.
"He has been taken away from me, just in a different way," Lawson said. "I miss him so much, and I just wish that I could hug him but I can't."
Asking for a sentence that would allow Hancock's family and friends time to move on while Lawson has time to change his life, Kihlstrom emphasized the need for forgiveness moving forward.
"For Quincy, as hard as it may be, young man, I hope you search deep inside and come to understand the decision that you made," Kihlstrom said. "I hope that rehabilitation is in your future, as hard as it is for me to say right now, but I believe forgiveness will be the strength our family needs to continue."
Hancock's family and friends lamented that Hancock's now 3-year-old son, Sonny, will live his life with no memory of his father.
It was actually breathtaking to see Brad with his baby. We can tell him all we want about Brad, but he's not going to have one memory of his own.
–Melissa Hancock
"It was actually breathtaking to see Brad with his baby," Hancock's mother, Melissa Hancock, told the judge. "We can tell him all we want about Brad, but he's not going to have one memory of his own."
Among the memories Nemcek said he will always cherish are of road trips with the stereo turned up too loud and seeing Hancock hauling Sonny around the mall in a carrier and calling himself "super dad."
The hardest memories to share, he said, will be of seeing Hancock shot that night in the parking lot.
"One day I will have to look into Sonny's eyes when he asks me how his father died, and I'm not sure that is something I will ever be ready to endure," Nemcek said.
