An accomplice in a shooting that followed the Richard Spencer rally at UF in 2017 was sentenced to five years in prison Monday.
In August, Colton Fears, 30, of Pasadena, Texas, signed a deal to plead guilty to accessory to attempted first-degree murder and to leave his sentencing up to 8th District Circuit Court Judge James M. Colaw.
At a pretrial conference Monday, Judge Colaw could have given Fears a maximum sentence of 15 years in state prison, according to court records. He ultimately decided to sentence Fears to five years. Due to the plea deal, 515 days were taken off the sentence.
Fears was arrested for taking part in a shooting at a bus stop, where no one was injured, about an hour after the Spencer rally at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in October 2017, according to Alligator archives.
Tyler Tenbrink, 30, of Richmond, Texas; Fears; and his brother William Fears, 31, of Pasadena, Texas, pulled up to a bus stop at 3315 SW Archer Road and began arguing with residents there. One of the men began yelling “Heil Hitler” and other slurs at the people at the bus stop.
An argument started, and one of the people hit the three men’s rear window with a baton. They drove about 10 feet forward before stopping, and Tenbrink came out of the car with a handgun while Fears and his brother were yelling “I’m going to f------ kill you,” “Kill them” and “Shoot them.”
Tenbrink fired a single shot at a bystander and missed hitting the business behind them.
On Feb. 27, Tenbrink was sentenced to 15 years in prison, and he accepted the charges but is not admitting to them. He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm while being a felon.
Neither Fears’ attorney nor the state attorney could be immediately reached for comment.
Colton Fears
