NAMES IN THE NEWS : Paycheck’s Sentence Upheld

COLUMBUS, Ohio —  The state Supreme Court today upheld Johnny Paycheck’s 7- to 9 1/2-year sentence in the 1985 shooting of another barroom patron in southern Ohio.

Authorities said Paycheck, best known for his 1978 hit “Take This Job and Shove It,” pulled out a pistol in the Hillsboro lounge on Dec. 19, 1985, and fired a shot after interpreting a remark as an insult, wounding Larry Wise in the scalp. Paycheck was sent to the Chillicothe Correctional Institute on Feb. 7, 1989, with no chance of parole for at least five years and eight months.

The country singer originally was charged with felonious assault involving the use of a gun, but a jury convicted him of a lesser offense of aggravated assault. He was also convicted of tampering with evidence.

In an appeal, lawyers for Paycheck argued that he should not have been given a mandatory three-year sentence for use of a firearm. They contended the lesser charge did not provide for the firearm specification.