From citation to jail - what was this guy thinking?

Man Gets 10 Years in License Shooting
From Associated Press
June 27, 2007 10:20 PM EDT

REDDING, Calif. - A 49-year-old truck driver has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting his wife after she failed to renew his driver's license.

Gary Alan Hemsted pleaded no contest earlier this month to attempted voluntary manslaughter, using a firearm and causing great bodily injury in the wounding of his wife, Lisa, 42, in 2005.
Shasta County sheriff's deputies said Hemsted became angry after he was cited for driving with an expired license and blamed his wife for failing to renew it.

Detective Steve Grashoff testified that Hemsted threatened to shoot his wife's horse and fired a round from a .22-caliber rifle that narrowly missed his wife and hit the family's barn.

Lisa Hemsted ran down the driveway of the couple's home while her husband gave chase in his pickup truck. As Lisa Hemsted climbed over a fence to try to get away, Gary Hemsted aimed his rifle at her, told her "you're dead" and fired a shot that hit her in the right thigh, Grashoff said.
A sheriff's patrol car was pulling up as the shooting took place.

Hemsted's attorney, Richard Maxion, said his client could end up serving a little more than six years in prison after the 796 days he has spent in jail and any credits he earns for good behavior are deducted from the sentence.