Man sentenced for hammer attacks in Silver Valley

Andrew Franklin Carey, 33, was sentenced in Wallace Monday to 4-10 years in prison for hitting two men in the head with hammers.

Carey, who pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated battery, made a statement to district court judge Fred M. Gibler Monday before receiving his sentence.

"I have been in jail for nearly a year and it's given me a lot of time to think. There are things I know I need to change. There is no excuse, so I won't waste your time making any," he said.

In both crimes committed against different victims two months apart, Carey caused lacerations resulting in stitches after hitting each man with a hammer, according to court records.

Gibler told Carey it is "inexcusable to use a hammer to batter someone."

Four years of the sentence is fixed with an additional six-year indeterminate sentence.

Also making a statement in court was one of the victims, Beldon Landsidel, whom Carey battered at Landsidel's Silverton home on June 15, 2014. Court records reflect that Carey knocked on Landsidel's door, asked him his name, and hit him with a hammer.

"I don't know this guy - never met him. This is the second time I have ever seen him," Landsidel said in court Monday.

Landsidel said he needed six staples and an MRI resulting from the incident. He also said he recently suffered a stroke and believed the blow he received from Carey could have contributed to it. The victim said he thought the maximum possible penalty would be appropriate for Carey.

During the other incident, Carey hit another man in the head with a hammer following an altercation in Wallace on April 9, 2014.

"He sees himself as some kind of enforcer in a vigilante justice system ... going around smacking people on the head with a hammer," said Shoshone County deputy prosecutor Blaine Harrocks Monday.

Born in Washington and with two prior felony convictions, Carey was living in Wallace when the two batteries occurred, according to court records.

Each count of aggravated battery carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.