In this file photo, investigators measure the angle at which a bullet from a hunting rifle pierced the cab and driver of this Toyota truck during a Jan. 8, 2009, incident on Pacolet Highway. Two brothers, including the one who pulled the trigger, pleaded guilty Monday in Cherokee County General Sessions Court. Eric Shawn Gardner sounded collected when he first reached a Cherokee County E-911 operator on Jan. 8, 2009.

He was driving somewhere in the vicinity of Quarter Round Road while making the call, limping along on tires shot out by gunfire, and he needed help.

But however you would describe his voice at the start of the call, the pitch, timbre and urgency immediately changed midway through the conversation when yet another shot rang out.

“Oh God, I’ve been shot!” he told the 9-1-1 operator. “Oh God, please help me,” he implored. “Hurry!”

While the 9-1-1 operator continued asking him questions about his location, his injury, and what was going on, the strength of Gardner’s voice continually softened until he no longer could be heard. Gardner survived the incident, but not without scars.

Seventh Circuit Assistant Solicitor Michael Morin, who played the chilling 9-1-1 recording in Cherokee County General Sessions Court on Monday, said Gardner was shot straight through the back by a .270 caliber deer hunting rifle. It cost $379,984 to treat Gardner’s injuries at the hospital, the prosecutor said.

“This case is as close to a murder as I’ve ever seen where somebody didn’t die,” Morin told the court.

Two brothers, Nicholas Lee Stewart, who allegedly pulled the trigger, and Ricky Lynn Stewart Jr., pleaded guilty Monday afternoon to assault and battery with intent to kill in connection with the incident.

Nicholas Lee Stewart, 27, of Colony Road, Pacolet, was sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Mark Hayes to a 20-year prison sentence, suspended upon service of 10 years. The prison sentence will be followed by five years of probation.

“My understanding is you were not the one who shot the gun, but were in the car,” the judge would subsequently tell Ricky Lynn Stewart Jr., 29, of Roebuck, before imposing a 12-year prison sentence, which will be suspended after six years. Ricky Stewart also will have to serve five years of probation once he is released.

The two brothers also were ordered to pay restitution for Gardner’s medical bills, though there was some confusion as to how much was owed since insurance and medical assistance covered a portion of the expenses.

The judge said a restitution hearing could be scheduled to determine the appropriate amount if there is a dispute going forward.

While both of the Stewart brothers offered their apologies in court, their attorney, John B. White Jr., argued the case wasn’t clear-cut.

Prosecutors alleged that one or both of the brothers were upset on Jan. 8, 2009, about Gardner’s contact with a female and that Nicholas Stewart shot at Gardner’s truck as he drove by their home. The brothers then got in their own vehicle and followed.

“All the evidence shows they didn’t just shoot at him as he drove by,” Morin said. “They chased him.”

In the next few minutes, tires on Gardner’s truck were shot out and somewhere in the 3900 block of Pacolet Highway, a bullet pieced the rear of the truck cab, striking Gardner in the back. The bullet exited Gardner’s body and was recovered from the dashboard.

After Gardner was shot, Morin said one of the brothers yelled as they drove by, “That’s what you get for messing with somebody’s old lady.”

White alleged that on Jan. 8, 2009, Gardner had met up with Nicholas Stewart’s longtime live-in girlfriend at a Pacolet bar.

Nicholas Stewart spotted them and walked over to Gardner’s truck, where White alleged some words were exchanged. At that time, White alleged Gardner pulled out a rifle and fired shots out the window of his own truck. The attorney claimed a .22-caliber bullet struck the rear of Ricky Stewart’s truck.

“If it had stopped there,” White said, “they (the Stewarts) would have been the victim (in the case.)”

Later, when the Stewarts went back to Nicholas Stewart’s home, White said Gardner drove by their home in his truck. The Stewarts had been drinking, White acknowledged, and a man who allegedly shot at them was driving by.

“I don’t want to minimize the seriousness of the situation,” he told the court. “But it‘s well explained when you hear all the facts.”

Morin later countered that a witness who spoke to police just three hours after Gardner was shot never said anything to police about Gardner firing first.

A close family member of the Stewart brothers told the court the incident was “out of character” for them. Attorney White also presented the court with numerous letters written on behalf of the Stewarts..

“I’m sorry for all that happened,” Nicholas Stewart said. “It should never have happened. I’m sorry.”

Ricky Stewart told the judge, “I never thought anything like this would happen.”

Gardner, when given a chance to address the court, said he had three surgeries and spent one and half months in the hospital following the shooting.

“All of this made a big impact on my life,” he told the court. “It’s something I have to look at every day.”