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Man gets 6 years for trailer-park attack Scott William Austin Tuesday Oct 25, 2016 at 3:29 PM Oct 25, 2016 at 5:27 PM Nick Morgan Mail Tribune @mtcrimebeat A man avoided an attempted murder charge Tuesday when he pleaded no contest to a lesser felony for his role in a White City trailer-park attack in which one of three victims fired a gunshot. Scott William Austin, 44, was handed a six-year prison sentence after pleading no contest to felony burglary and misdemeanor assault charges stemming from a February incident in which he attacked three men while searching for his estranged wife at a neighbor's trailer. Austin reportedly sent his wife threatening text messages on the evening of Feb. 8, prompting her to seek help from neighbors, according to Deputy District Attorney Benjamin Lull. Austin recently had been released from the Jackson County Jail on felony domestic violence charges after violating a restraining order for a January attack in a grocery store parking lot. At just after 1:30 a.m., Austin barged into his neighbor's trailer in the 2500 block of Merry Lane and began attacking the male occupants inside. Austin's wife jumped on his back and attempted to pull him away, and the neighbor, Chris Sowersby, fired a handgun through his trailer to stop the attack. Austin had faced a felony charge of attempting to murder his wife during the altercation, which was dropped. Austin pleaded no contest, rather than guilty, to the burglary and assault counts because Sowersby initially allowed him in, according to Austin's court-appointed defense lawyer Christine Herbert. He pleaded guilty to felony assault for attacking his wife Jan. 15 at the Albertsons parking lot on West Main Street, where he hit her with a wrench and violently tried to remove her ring during a meeting to exchange property. He had attacked her previously, in 2007 and 2011, according to Lull. Austin's wife addressed the court, saying there is no "good resolution" for the father of her daughter. She asked Circuit Judge David Hoppe to sentence Austin to the full 72 months.  Herbert said her client is "intelligent" but has long struggled with alcoholism. He served as a Marine and has never been to prison before, she said. Hoppe told Austin he "dodged a little bit of a bullet" by getting the attempted murder charge dropped. Hoppe urged him to focus on addressing the underlying anger and emotional problems his addiction amplified. Austin was sentenced to 72 months in state prison followed by three years of post-prison supervision. He will be eligible for treatment programs in prison, as well as earned time and good behavior sentence reductions. Reach reporter Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @MTCrimeBeat.