Hamilton man gets prison time in argument that led to fatal shooting

The family of a Hamilton man shot and killed last year was upset after his killer was sentenced Tuesday by Judge Noah Powers in Butler County Common Pleas Court.

Robert Bishop faced three to 11 years, with an additional three years for gun specification, after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter for killing Timothy Dugan, 36, in September 2016, Powers said.

RELATED: Robert Bishop says shooting was done in self-defense

Powers sentenced Bishop, 46, to five years, plus three years for using a gun, and seconds later, one of Dugan’s brothers stormed out of the courtroom, shouting: “That’s not justice.”

Dugan’s mother, Margie Brunner, was visibly upset at what she said was a light sentence. She wanted Bishop to serve at least 10 years, she said.

“I was very unhappy,” Brunner said of the sentence. “Justice wasn’t served for my child at all.”

Bishop’s attorney David Washington asked Powers for a “fair and reasonable” sentence, noting that Bishop had a short criminal record.

During mitigation, Brunner, wearing a “RIP Tim Dugan” T-shirt, said she didn’t understand why her son was killed.

“Only he knows why,” she said talking to Bishop.

Later, Brunner, 59, the mother of four children, said since her son was killed in September 2016 she has lost 36 pounds and aged 10 years. She was asked to describe losing a son.

“To be honest, there is no describing,” she said through tears. “There is a hole in my heart. Part of me died when he died.”

Officers responded to an apartment at 829 Maple Ave. on Sept. 6, 2016, in reference to a shots fired call at about 4:45 a.m.

In a 911 call, a man who identified himself as Bishop, said he shot Dugan in self-defense after an argument over money.

“A guy I know, I owed him money, he came in and he went ballistic, beat me up. He pulled a gun on me, we fought over it, and I had to shoot,” the 911 caller said.

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