Deputy D.A. Upset at Fan’s Sentence : Court: He beat another man at Raiders game to the point of brain damage. Prosecutor had called for a deterrent to ‘hooliganism.’

A Los Angeles Raiders fan who leaped drunkenly from a hooting crowd last year and attacked a Pittsburgh Steelers fan was sentenced on Friday to a short jail stint and three years’ probation despite a prosecutor’s call for a deterrent to “hooliganism.”

Shane C. Geringer, 20, of Agoura Hills--who beat and kicked a Tucson man to the point of brain damage--slumped in visible relief as Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James A. Bascue announced he would not impose the maximum four-year state prison term.

Bascue acknowledged that he wanted to send a message to boisterous Raiders fans, but said he had an obligation to be fair to Geringer who, until last September “had led a blameless life.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Craig Veals said the sentence left him “extremely disappointed,” because it “sends the message (to out-of-control sports fans) that you get a free bite of the apple.”

Veals noted that the victim, Paul Albrecht, a 33-year-old father of two, has been unable to work since the “vicious and unwarranted” attack, which impaired his memory and motor skills and left him deaf in one ear.

But Geringer’s lawyer, Leslie Abramson, described her client as “a good kid with a good heart and a big problem.” Geringer, she said, had been an alcoholic since the age of 13, but until last year had no criminal record.

Had he not been drunk on the day of the attack, she said, Geringer would never have landed behind bars. As it was, she said, he spent three months in Los Angeles County Jail and another three months in state prison in Chino, where he was sent for a psychiatric evaluation.

Geringer’s time behind bars had been “a true nightmare,” but a necessary experience for the young man, who “frankly needed a slap upside the head,” Abramson said. He had been beaten at least once during his jail stint, she said, and was so frightened that he has “turned his life around.”

The judge decided to allow the onetime Agoura Hills High School football linebacker to go free on probation after serving 83 more days in jail. During his probation, Geringer will be banned from any professional sporting events at which alcohol is served, the judge said, telling him, “You will get to know your TV set very well.”

Albrecht’s parents said they, too, were disappointed.

“We didn’t want to see the kid go to state prison, but we did want to see him punished,” said Deloris Albrecht, who, with her husband, Wilbur, drove from Tucson only to arrive too late for the sentencing, which was held 2 1/2 hours early at the request of the defense attorney.

“He should have gotten more jail time,” Albrecht’s mother said. “He might consider himself to have had a tough time, but Paul has to live with this the rest of his life.”

The attack, which prompted a cutback on beer sales at the Coliseum and widespread criticism of Raiders fans, occurred late in the fourth quarter of a Steelers-Raiders football game as Albrecht walked through the crowd in a section of low-priced seats.

A native of Erie, Pa., and a lifelong Steelers fan, Albrecht had driven from Tucson to see the game--the first professional football game he had ever attended, his father said. But as he held up a program featuring a photo of one of the Steelers, a contingent of Raiders fans began pelting him with peanuts and ice.

Then, as Albrecht passed behind the Steelers team bench in the aisle closest to the field, Geringer jumped him from behind, punched him, knocked him to the ground, and kicked him until he lay motionless, witnesses said.

The father of two preschool-aged sons, Albrecht suffered a broken jaw, lapsed into a brief coma and was hospitalized for a week. His father said he returned to his job as a boilermaker, but had to quit after less than two months because the attack had left him so disabled. Medical bills have totaled more than $50,000, the parents said.

In the aftermath of the attack, the Albrechts said, they were deluged with flowers and letters of apology from outraged Los Angeles football fans. But they heard nothing from the Raiders, the Coliseum or Geringer’s family, “not even a get-well card,” Wilbur Albrecht said.

Coliseum officials announced they would no longer sell beer in 20-ounce containers, opting instead for smaller 12-ounce cups. Nonetheless, Albrecht has filed a civil suit naming not only the Geringers but the Raiders, charging that the team winked at the hostile atmosphere at its games because crowd violence suited its “rough and rowdy” image.