Decisions

How many times have I done something that, afterward, I have completely regretted? I think most people would do at least a few things differently if they could go back in time.

We have a kid here in Helena who just turned 18. When he was 17, back in late Spring or early Summer, he was at a party. He was drinking. Something happened with some text messages, I think, and he ended up picking a fight with some kids. He met them near a neighborhood in town, telling them he was not going to "fight fair." Then he pulled out a handgun and shot all three of them. He killed one of them and severely wounded the other two.

So this kid entered a plea a few days ago. He pleaded guilty in a courtroom where his family, as well as the families of his victims, watched and listened. Wearing the token orange jumpsuit, he sat at a table with two attorneys. He looked young. His brown hair was short and neat. He seemed like a regular, decent teenager. His glasses made him look smart, which, according to how his friends have described him, is very much the case. His friends also said some things about him that are quite unfortunate. Whenever he drank, they said, he became "a different person." He did not act like himself. On one occasion, prior to the shooting, he allegedly pointed a gun at someone after having had some alcohol.

There he sat in the courtroom. The judge asked him for his plea to each charge, from murder to attempted murder. "Guilty," he said. The judge, having been prodded by the prosecutor, asked young Sebastian what his intention was when he shot at all three victims. "To kill them," he said. It was difficult to watch. Not because gruesome details were discussed, but because it's hard to see such a young kid, who has probably lived many more good days than he has bad ones, talk about such horrific things. All because of some irrational decision he made in such a short instant. The judge asked him why he did it. "I don't know why," he said. He's been sitting in the Lewis & Clark County Jail for months. How many mornings do you think he has woken up in his cell, wondering if what he did really happened? Oh, no, please tell me I'm not waking up here again. I can't have done that. Did that really happen? Did I really kill that kid? Wasn't it just a dream?

I'm a member of Lewis & Clark County Sheriff's Reserves Class 16. Our most recent class was Evidence Handling and Crime Scene Investigation and Processing. Pictures? Yes. Stories? You bet. The most fascinating comment, however, was not related to a specific story, but to law enforcement work in general. The detective teaching the class said, "If it weren't for booze, we wouldn't have jobs, guys." In the context of what has happened in Sebastian Olivares-Coster's case, and in countless others, alcohol was involved. People really need to stop and think.