Salt Lake man sentenced to probation after shooting at a Papa John’s over order delay
Sep 21, 2023, 11:21 AM
A man who fired shots at a Draper pizza store after his order was not ready was sentenced to serve two years of probation on Tuesday. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
(Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake man who fired multiple rounds at a Papa John’s in Draper after his order wasn’t ready will serve two years of probation after pleading guilty.
Paul Edward Fracasso, 34, pleaded guilty to felony discharge of a firearm, a second-degree felony, in August. Two charges of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony, were dismissed as part of a plea deal.
Third District Court Judge Todd Shaughnessy sentenced Fracasso to between one and 15 years in prison but suspended that sentence in favor of two years of probation. Instead of assigning jail time, the judge ordered Fracasso to complete 100 hours of community service.
According to charging documents, Fracasso went to the pizza store about 7 p.m. on Nov. 13, 2021, after putting in an order over the phone. When he asked for his order, an employee told him their system for call-in orders was down and offered to help him place an order in person.
Fracasso and a man he was with became “very agitated and began swearing at the employee,” charging documents said. Fracasso yelled at all the employees before leaving, threatening to beat one who was laughing, the charges allege.
About 8:45 p.m., the employee who tried to help Fracasso went out the back door for a break and heard gunshots; two employees inside the store also heard “pops” and glass shattering, and one employee reported dropping to the ground and crawling to the back of the store, according to charging documents.
The two men were identified on surveillance footage from the pizza store as the same men who had been there earlier that evening, and gunshot residue was found on Fracasso’s hands.
Fracasso’s attorney, Frank Berardi, said he didn’t think jail time would be valuable in this case because his client is the sole provider for his family and has a stable life. Berardi said in the two years since Fracasso was released from jail, his client has not had any legal issues.
The attorney said Fracasso may have the lowest “criminal level” he had ever seen — a negative 3 — referring to a score calculated by Adult Probation and Parole based on past criminal history. Berardi also pointed out that there were no reports of any injuries from the shooting.
Shaughnessy, however, said there is “a disconnect” between that criminal history and Fracasso’s actions at the pizza store. He said the lack of criminal history does count in Fracasso’s favor, but the crime he committed was serious.
Berardi explained that Fracasso’s judgment was impaired by alcohol and the “situation escalated.”
“He’s very lucky that no one got hurt,” Berardi said.
