Uncle Jailed for Gun Threat to Niece, 14

A 40-year-old man was sentenced to 180 days in jail for threatening his 14-year-old niece with a shotgun.

Robert Evans of Van Nuys took a 12-gauge shotgun wrapped in a pillowcase to his niece’s apartment on Oct. 6 and threatened to kill her for riding in his car and for giving out his phone number to her friend.

Evans was sentenced Friday by Van Nuys Municipal Judge Anita Dymant after he was found guilty of brandishing a firearm and inflicting mental suffering on a child by jurors who deliberated for seven hours at the end of a two-day trial.

Evans was also placed on four years’ probation, ordered to undergo domestic violence counseling and placed under a restraining order requiring him to stay away from his niece, said Ted Ward, the city prosecutor who handled the case.