A former janitor who hid a shotgun in the Grand Forks Herald's downtown building was sentenced Monday to 90 days on electronic home monitoring and 18 months of supervised probation.
Philip Manaigre, 23, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment and a charge of disorderly conduct was dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
The terms of Manaigre's probation require that he not come within 50 yards of the Herald's building.
Before accepting Manaigre's guilty plea, Judge Lawrence Jahnke of state District Court had requested time to review psychological and chemical-dependency evaluations of Manaigre. During Monday's hearing, Manaigre's attorney, Jim Hovey, said the evaluations "have all come back without any remarkable findings."
Manaigre's case stems from the Feb. 22 discovery of the shotgun at the Herald. Newspaper employees found the gun loaded with slugs stashed in a pillowcase inside a cabinet.
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Manaigre worked for a custodial firm contracted to clean the Herald's building at night. Police said he admitted to stowing the gun -- a 12-gauge, pump-action shotgun with a pistol grip, a short barrel and no shoulder stock -- in the cabinet, saying it was for self-defense because of a personal dispute with people outside the Herald.
Manaigre told police the janitorial company transferred him from working at the Herald in December, and that he never retrieved the shotgun because he forgot he left it there.
On March 3, officers arrested Manaigre at his home in Grand Forks following a six-hour standoff.
At Monday's sentencing, Hovey said Manaigre was evicted from his home in connection with this case. Manaigre told the judge he's now living in Buxton, N.D., with his mother and looking for work.
Manaigre was ordered to forfeit his shotgun.
Archie Ingersoll is a reporter at The Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald, which is owned by
Forum Communications Co.
