2024 Zanesville City Hall shooter sentenced to 14 years in prison

Patrick D. Foraker, 40, of Zanesville, appeared before Judge Kelly Cottrill in the Muskingum County Court of Common Pleas this month to receive sentencing for charges stemming from Foraker allegedly shooting into Zanesville’s City Hall last year. 

Foraker’s charges include three counts of felonious assault with a firearm and one count of inducing panic. 

At the sentencing hearing, the State recommended the maximum prison sentence of 31 and a half years. The State’s recommendation was based on the severity of the crime and the fact that there were multiple victims working inside the office into which Foraker allegedly shot. 

“I am thankful no one was injured or killed during this shooting,” Muskingum County Prosecutor Ron Welch said. “We felt the actions of the shooter deserved a maximum sentence but understand sentencing is the job of the court not the prosecutor.”

Judge Cottrill, after hearing sentencing arguments from both the state and the defense, sentenced Foraker to 14 years in prison, six of those years being mandatory. Foraker will also be on post-release control for 18 months, up to three years, following his release. 

On Feb. 12, 2024, Foraker allegedly arrived at Zanesville City Hall angry about his water being turned off for failure to pay his bill. Following an outburst at the payment window, Foraker allegedly threw a yellow billing slip through the clerk’s window slot and walked away. 

After Foraker left the window, a clerk went over to pick up the slip, and as she bent down to retrieve the billing slip, Foraker allegedly fired three shots directly into the clerk’s window.