Former Springfield City Councilor Victoria Doyle has been sentenced to three years of probation and 14 days in jail following a road-rage incident earlier this year.
Doyle pleaded guilty to one count of Unlawful Use of a Weapon, after brandishing a pistol following a dispute in a Walmart parking lot on Aug. 16.
According to a police affidavit, Doyle admitted to driving behind the other vehicle while pointing a gun at it, in order to scare the people inside.
In court filings, her lawyer argued recent changes to her medications likely contributed to her behavior. Her husband, Mark Doyle, wrote that he noticed changes in her mood before the incident, as “she said she felt like a pressure cooker, and something had to give.”
The incident happened just weeks after Doyle announced she was resigning from her seat on Springfield City Council due to “increased responsibilities at work and to prioritize family.” Mark Doyle wrote that his wife had stepped down from her position due to the sudden shifts in mood.
In a letter to the judge, Victoria Doyle wrote that her behavior was reckless, and she was sorry that she made the victims feel afraid.
“I want them to know that I regret what I did, and it is important to me that they know I am genuinely sorry,” she wrote. “I often consider how I would have felt if the roles were reversed and my heart breaks just thinking about it.”
Prior to the sentencing, the victims of the crime wrote to the court that they’d received financial compensation from Doyle, and believed the case should be dismissed.
