CASPER, Wyo. — A Casper man was sentenced to four to six years in prison on Friday for holding an unloaded firearm to a woman’s head last April.

When Zachary Scott Kovacs, 23, appeared before Judge Josh Eames, he was so remorseful that he was unsure if he deserved the suspended sentence they were asking for, according to his public defender, Dylan Rosalez, who added that Kovacs had no relevant criminal history and had been earnestly engaged in batterers intervention classes while on bond.

The victim also asked Judge Eames for a suspended sentence and requested that the court-ordered no-contact order be dropped.

When Kovacs pleaded guilty, the state agreed to cap its sentencing argument at six years.

The incident was reported to law enforcement six days after the fact during a non-criminal custodial dispute, the charging affidavit said. Casper police learned on April 10 that the woman was holding their infant child when she and Kovacs began arguing. Kovacs grabbed her by the throat, pushed her up against a wall and held a gun to her head. After a few moments, he dropped the gun toward the floor and told her it wasn’t loaded.

Kovacs later told law enforcement that he knew there wasn’t a magazine in the gun, but admitted he had not checked the chamber. Police noted in the report that Kovacs was immediately remorseful, “stating he was a military veteran and knew better.” On the way to jail, Kovacs talked about regret for losing his temper and damaging his aspirations to work in law enforcement and be a role model to his son. No drugs or alcohol were involved, the report said.

“There has to be some punishment for holding a gun against a person’s head,” District Attorney Dan Itzen said, adding that the woman had been holding Kovacs’s infant son at the time.

Eames agreed that probation would not be appropriate given the isolated yet extreme facts of the case.

Kovacs will get credit for 11 days served.

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