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Springfield man gets 90 days for shooting wife during sex

Wife insists the incident was accidental

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By Matt Sanctis, Staff Writer Updated 7:30 AM Wednesday, May 13, 2009

URBANA — A Springfield man was sentenced to serve 90 days in jail Tuesday, May 12, despite the victim’s claims that a shooting last November was accidental.

Timothy Havens, 38, of Hilliard Street, was sentenced to serve the time in a case in which he was accused of shooting his wife with a handgun. He had called 911 to report that he shot his wife “during sex.”

Champaign County Common Pleas Court Judge Roger Wilson also ordered Havens to serve 80 hours of community service, attend anger management counseling, pay a $300 fine and serve three years probation. He was also ordered not to have contact with the victim. He did receive credit for time already served.

Havens had previously pleaded guilty to one count of violating a protection order and one count of assault.

Champaign County Prosecutor Nick Selvaggio said the case was complicated, in part because the victim maintained that the shooting was an accident throughout the investigation.

However, he also argued some of the evidence in the case did not seem to match the story and there had been a history of violence in the home.

The victim had also filed a protection order, which meant Havens should not have been in the home when the shooting occurred. Even after the shooting, both Havens and the victim were trying to reconcile and continued to violate the protection order, he said.

Kevin Lennen, Havens’ attorney, argued Havens has never been in serious legal trouble previously, and stressed that the victim had maintained the shooting was accidental from the beginning.

He said because the victim had filed with the court to rescind the protection order, there was some confusion about whether they were allowed to see each other.

However, Wilson said he believes both parties simply ignored the protection order, and should be kept apart for now.

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