‘Just a matter of time:’ Boise man sentenced to prison after shooting another man
Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Ammon Judy said during Aaron Black’s Friday sentencing that it was only a matter of time before the 48-year-old shot someone.
The Boise man was sentenced to 25 years in prison with the possibility of parole after five years after he shot and injured one of his then-friends last year. He was convicted of felony aggravated battery after a criminal trial in October.
“This is not the first time that the defendant has been drunk, angry and introduced a firearm. This event has been in the works for years,” Judy said in court. “It was just a matter of time before this defendant shot someone.”
The prosecution asked 4th District Judge James Cawthon to sentence Black to at least 15 years in prison before he’s eligible for parole, and said that despite Black’s minimal criminal history, he’d been in several altercations involving weapons while he was intoxicated.
Black’s public defender Scott Rowley argued that his client had lived “a law-abiding life” up until this shooting and that his family and friends described him as a charitable and kind man. Rowley in turn asked the judge to place Black on probation.
Cawthon, who presides over felony cases in Ada County, said that he agreed that Black had good qualities but that didn’t outweigh his actions last year. He added that Black’s choices that night — like “chugging” alcohol right after the shooting and not providing first aid to his then-friend — showed that his concerns were only for himself.
“That response in reaction to such a stressful, traumatic situation when — for all you know — (the victim’s) life is passing there on the floor — and to think of yourself is concerning,” Cawthon said.
On an early morning in January 2024, police responded to reports of a shooting at Black’s home in West Boise. The victim was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, which he said caused “irreparable damage” to his life both physically and mentally.
“I feel completely disrespected,” the man said in court Friday afternoon. “Never in my life would I expect to be harmed in such a way by someone that’s supposed to be my friend.”
Black had threatened another person with a gun earlier that night, which caused the victim, according to his testimony during a prior hearing, to talk to Black about being careful with a gun because it could get out of control.
He said that’s when Black got angry and pushed him off a bar stool onto the floor, the transcript said, and when the man got up and started walking toward Black, Black shot him.
When asked if he’d like to make a statement in court Black called the incident a “terrible accident.”
“I can only imagine how terrifying the whole thing had to be,” he added. “This wasn’t something that was supposed to happen.”
