As a judge sentenced him to 33 to 40 years in prison, Eric Funk looked over at his family seated near the front of the courtroom.

He shook his head, then, still staring away from the judge, he glanced up at the wall and pursed his lips. A court deputy offered him a tissue, which he accepted before walking out of Natrona County District Court.

A few minutes earlier, he apologized for shooting at his then-wife five times after she drove up to her home with her boyfriend's two children on July 24. His shots narrowly missed her, but one bullet severed the finger of a seven-year-old boy. The boy's finger was later re-attached.

"What I did was completely wrong," Funk, 26, told Judge Thomas Sullins at a sentencing hearing Thursday. "There is no explanation for what I did."

Three of the bullets passed through the windshield of his wife's car, an Oldsmobile Aurora. One stopped after it struck the rim of the steering wheel.

"How she was not struck remains a miracle," said Natrona County District Attorney Michael Blonigen, who had sought a 38- to 45-year sentence.

In arguing for a stiff sentence, Blonigen noted that two of the victims in the case were children, and that Funk had defied a restraining order to stay away from his then-estranged wife. She has since divorced him and left the state.

"I don't think the serious nature of this crime can be downplayed," Blonigen said.

On July 16, eight days before the shooting, Funk's then-wife asked for a protection order against him, claiming he threatened to shoot her and commit suicide.

In court Thursday, family members described Funk, who earlier pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment, as a helpful man who became distraught after his marriage deteriorated.

"I could tell he was heartbroken," said Fred Funk, his brother.

Funk's attorney, Public Defender Kerri Johnson, had asked for a sentence of 20 to 25 years. She noted his remorse and lack of a criminal history.

"We don't see any of this type of behavior in his past," she said.

Johnson also pointed out that Funk wasn't aware the children were in the car. She told Sullins that her client had broken down and cried after being told one of his shots had struck the finger of one of the boys.

On the night of July 24, Funk broke into his wife's home, in a neighborhood on the west side of Casper, and waited for her to arrive. Shortly before midnight, she drove up, noticed a light on in the house, and told the children, ages 7 and 8, to get back into the car.

Funk came out of the house and said "See, I told you I was going to get you," before firing five shots at her with a .45-caliber handgun, Blonigen said.

In the aftermath, Funk, who was drunk at the time, attempted suicide by slashing his wrists and stabbing himself in the chest, Johnson said. He eventually surrendered to police.

After the sentencing, Blonigen said there were some similarities between the Funk case and the cases of Edward Taylor and Dawn Rock, two Casper residents convicted last year of domestic-violence related murders.

"We are talking about domestic violence again; the simple inability for some people to accept the fact that they can't control the relationship and they resort to violence " he said.

Reach Joshua Wolfson at (307) 266-0582 or at josh.wolfson@trib.com.