Las Vegan receives probation for killing burglar

Wednesday, April 5, 2000 | 9:24 a.m.

A Las Vegas man has been sentenced to probation for chasing and killing a burglar who attacked him in his home.

Judge Mark Gibbons sentenced Thomas Gaule to an indeterminate period of probation, not to exceed three years. Chief Deputy District Attorney Bill Koot said he opposed sending Gaule, 43, to prison.

"If there's ever a case with extenuating circumstances, this is the one," Gibbons said Tuesday.

"This case has been troublesome to me personally for as long as I've been assigned the case," Koot said.

Officials of the state Division of Parole and Probation recommended a minimum sentence of four years in prison.

Koot said he rarely opposes such recommendations, but he doubted whether prison time would do any good in Gaule's case. He expressed concern about the message a prison sentence would send the community.

The prosecutor said he doesn't think the public wants to see a defendant go to prison in cases such as Gaule's.

A jury convicted Gaule of voluntary manslaughter with a deadly weapon in December for chasing Ricky Tripp and fatally shooting him. The shooting occurred 500 feet from Gaule's home.

Gaule testified during the trial that he was accosted by two men as he entered his home Oct. 25, 1998.

He said he managed to retrieve a shotgun despite being beaten and shocked with stun guns. He said he fired a shot between his two assailants as they ran for the door.

Jason Allen Lamb was also shot to death. Gaule was not charged in that shooting because it took place in his home.

"I did the best I could under the circumstances," Gaule said at his sentencing hearing. "I'm still trying to recover. I felt that I did the right thing. I'm sorry if it was wrong."