More than 50 onlookers, including victims and family members, packed into a courtroom Thursday afternoon in the Wright County Justice Center to witness the sentencing of Gregory Ulrich – convicted of the shootings and bombing of the Allina Crossroads Clinic in Buffalo Feb. 9, 2021.
Tenth District Court Judge Catherine McPherson sentenced Ulrich to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in the first-degree premeditated murder of Allina Crossroads Clinic medical assistant Lindsay Overbay. McPherson also sentenced Ulrich to an additional 72 years for the attempted first-degree premeditated murders of four other shooting victims in the Allina tragedy – four 216-month sentences to run consecutively to the murder charge.
With the convictions on the five major charges and the sentences that came with them, McPherson sentenced Ulrich to 45 months on the charge of detonating an explosive device – a sentence that will run concurrently. On the five lesser charges, no sentence was given, but McPherson kept in place the guilty verdicts rendered by the jury June 2.
Prior to sentencing, Wright County Attorney Brian Lutes addressed the court and directly confronted Ulrich, saying he brought “an element of evil to the Allina Clinic” Feb. 9, 2021 and that Ulrich’s “twisted attack on innocent victims shattered families forever.”
Lutes went on to address Ulrich, calling the shooting a “cowardly act” and referring to Ulrich as a coward repeatedly for the acts he perpetrated on each of the victims – all of whom had nothing to do with Ulrich’s dispute with Allina medical personnel.
Lutes said that, despite the sorrow of such a senseless tragedy, there was some good that came in the aftermath of the shooting, as the Allina family and the community of Buffalo came together in their resolve not to allow the tragic events of Feb. 9, 2021 to break the spirit of those impacted.
While the defense attorneys had no comment for the court, Ulrich spoke for approximately five minutes. He said his attack could have been avoided, blaming medical personnel who denied him pain medication following surgery six years earlier and falsely reporting that he had suffered an opioid overdose.
Ulrich stated he wasn’t looking for leniency from Judge McPherson, but added that he had been in agony for six years and the pain drove him out of his mind. In response to comments made by Lutes, Ulrich showed no remorse, saying, “I’m not ashamed of anything and I’m not a coward.”
In her sentencing, McPherson said she “had no words for the horror and tragedy” of that fateful day and acknowledged the strength, courage and resilience of those who testified during the emotional trial.
When the sentencing was finished and McPherson announced that court was adjourned, many in attendance broke into applause. In a press conference following the sentencing, Lutes said he wasn’t surprised that Ulrich chose to speak, citing that none of the victims or their families delivered impact statements because “they didn’t want to give him (Ulrich) the attention.” He added that it was the first time in his legal career that he had witnessed a courtroom gallery break into applause at the end of sentencing.
After spending the last 494 days since the shooting in the Wright County Jail, following sentencing Ulrich was remanded of the custody of the Commissioner of Corrections to be assigned to a state prison for the rest of his life.