THOUSAND OAKS : 3-Year Sentence for Woman in Shooting

A Thousand Oaks woman who shot up a residential neighborhood in a drunken rage a year ago was sentenced Friday to three years in prison, despite a tearful plea to the judge that she be placed on probation.

Kathleen Ann Quinn, 46, received the minimum prison term for her guilty plea to nine charges stemming from the December, 1993, shooting, which injured no one but sent bullets into several homes.

Superior Court Judge Lawrence Storch said he would not place Quinn on probation, however, because of the seriousness of her acts.

“If you can’t be safe in your own home, where can you be safe?” Storch said. “She’s lucky she didn’t kill anyone.”

Quinn’s sentencing was delayed several months because Storch ordered an evaluation of her mental condition. During the hearing Friday, the judge repeatedly referred to Quinn’s emotional and psychological problems, including deep depression.

“She didn’t do this out of any desire to harm anyone,” Storch said. “She decided to do this so somebody would kill her while she was doing this.”

Court records show that although no one was struck by the bullets, the incident could have resulted in serious injury. One woman said she finished writing Christmas cards just before her home was shot at, and the chair she had been sitting in was hit.

Quinn made a lengthy plea to Storch to place her on probation. She said she has remained sober since the incident, regularly attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and needs to be in a treatment program “so I can get well.”

“I’m very ashamed and I’m very sorry,” Quinn said. “I’ve paid--I’ve lost everything. I’ve lost my job, I’ve lost my car, I’ve lost my home, I’ve lost my family, I’ve lost my dignity. To send me to prison for three years is not going to help anyone.”