Man gets 12 years for holding woman at gunpoint

A man was sentenced to 12 years for holding a woman at gunpoint during a fight in 2019 at a Greenwood apartment.

A jury last month convicted Zakari Miller of criminal confinement with a deadly weapon.

Miller, 25, was charged with criminal confinement and pointing a firearm. The jury found him guilty on the confinement charge, a Level 3 felony, and not guilty on the lesser charge of pointing a firearm.

Miller’s sentence is 12 years in total. Of those 12 years, the first six years will be served at a state prison, followed by two years on work release. The final four years will be suspended to active probation. He was ordered to have no contact with the victim for the duration of the sentence, according to a Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office news release.

“I am now strong. I will thrive. I will flourish. I will no longer recoil in fear. I will no longer be victimized,” the victim said in a victim impact statement to Johnson County Superior Court 3 Judge Lance Hamner.

“I now realize I am more than just a tiny grain of sand in the wind. I’m still learning to react to people showing me care and compassion. It feels as if I am relearning everything for the first time again after being so used to a certain way of life. I have been broken for so long, but today I feel free.”

Greenwood police responded May 29, 2019 to a Greenwood apartment on a report of the victim being held against her will. When police arrived, they ordered Miller out of the apartment and handcuffed him, and found the victim inside, visibly shaking and hysterical, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The victim told police she and Miller had gotten into an argument about her work schedule, and he had kicked in the bedroom door, shoved her down, removed a handgun from his waist and pointed it at her, court documents said.

In court, the victim testified the interaction between she and Miller went from verbal to physical. She said Miller was pacing back and forth in front of the bedroom doorway with his handgun, and she feared he would kill her if she tried to leave the room. She said after Miller threw her down, she closed her eyes for an unknown amount of time, according to a prosecutor’s office news release.

Jurors also saw bodycam footage from an officer who responded to the scene, and listened to the 911 call, according to the news release.

Miller testified during the trial. He told jurors there was only a verbal argument and he simply unloaded his handgun, the news release said.

In closing arguments, prosecutors argued all the evidence presented by the state was consistent with the defendant’s multiple statements to police. Miller fled the state shortly before the case was set to go to trial, which demonstrates his guilt, prosecutors said.

The defense characterized the incident as “drama” between two young individuals, according to the news release.

The jury also found Miller guilty on a firearm enhancement, which allowed an additional five to 20 years be added to his sentence, the news release said.