Lawyer gets prison time for shooting into another lawyer’s office
A lawyer who practiced law in Portland, Oregon, was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Wednesday for firing shots into the office of another lawyer.
The lawyer, Erik Graeff, was sentenced after pleading guilty in October to unlawful use of a weapon and recklessly endangering another person, report the Columbian, the Oregonian and KATU News. Prosecutors had recommended a five-year sentence, according to a press release.
Graeff was accused of shooting six rounds at the office of lawyer Terrance Hogan of Beaverton in December 2017. Investigators later determined that one of the bullets missed a woman inside the building by less than a foot.
Graeff and Hogan had exchanged taunts in emails on the day of the shooting, police had alleged.
Erik Graeff. Photo from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Judge Andrew Erwin of Washington County imposed the prison sentence. He also ordered Graeff to undergo two years of supervision after prison, participate in mental health and alcohol treatment programs, and pay a $5,000 fine to the victims.
The email dispute allegedly began when Hogan left a voicemail telling Graeff he didn’t approve of his work in a case they were handling. Graeff responded with an email showing an image of a cat playing a violin, according to a search warrant affidavit.
Hogan responded by saying Graeff would have to explain his conduct to the state bars in Oregon and Washington, where he has licenses to practice, according to the affidavit. Graeff said he would be waiting, and that he is tougher than Hogan and the state bars. Hogan responded, “You know where I am, tough guy.”
A search of Graeff’s home in Vancouver, Washington, turned up the gun used in the shooting. It also found evidence that led to new charges against Graeff: unlawful manufacturing of methamphetamine. That case is still pending.
