Woman who shot at Hudson Police said she was going to Steal Cruiser
The Hudson Telegraph
04/11/03

NASHUA, NH - A young woman who has served nearly five years in 
prison for shooting at a Hudson police sergeant will soon be eligible 
for parole, officials said.

Corrinne Bastarache, formerly of Chelmsford, MA, was 18 in 1998
when she pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree assault and was
sentenced to 7 1/2 to 15 years in prison.

Hudson police Sgt. Michael Smith returned fire after Bastarache
shot at him twice earlier that year at the 7-Eleven store on Chase
Street. Bastarache missed Smith, and he hit her in the shoulder 
and abdomen.

The terms of Bastarache's sentence stated that she could seek to 
have 2 1/2 years suspended if she completed various programs in 
the prison, including anger management counseling, and earned her
GED.

Bastarache did what was asked of her, and after a hearing Wednesday
in Hillsborough County Superior Court, a judge suspended 2 1/2 years
of her minimum sentence, Assistant Attorney General Simon Brown said.

The prison has yet to determine when Bastarache will be eligible 
for parole, spokesman Jeffrey Lyons said. Her parole date had been 
Nov. 25, 2005.

Smith did not attend Wednesday's hearing. He consented to the original 
plea-bargain in Bastarache case, however.

Bastarache and a friend, a 15 year-old Chelmsford girl, had run away 
from their homes a few days before Smith found them loitering outside
the 7-Eleven a few minutes after midnight on May 28, 1998.

The girls were evasive when Smith spoke with them and refused to identify
themselves. Smith took the younger girl by the arm and led her to his
cruiser, turning his back to Bastarache as he unlocked the cruiser door,
a prosecutor said at the time she was sentenced.

Smith heard a loud bang and saw sparks between his legs. He turned and
saw Bastarache in a firing stance, aiming a .357 Magnum revolver at him.

Her first round passed between Smith's legs and lodged in the side of 
his cruiser. Her second shot hit only asphalt.

Smith shoved the younger teen to the ground, drew his 9-millimeter service
pistol and fired three rounds, hitting Bastarache twice.

Bastarache later told police she meant to wound Smith and steal his 
cruiser. She had stolen the gun and ammunition from her father before
leaving home.


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