EVERETT — An Everett man who opened fire on a former friend over rumors and a dirty look is headed to prison for a decade.

Carlo DeMarco, 27, learned his fate Friday for an unprovoked shooting in 2009 outside an Everett auto body shop. DeMarco pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and faced

up to 11 years in prison.

Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Julie Mohr told the judge Friday that even now it’s not clear what caused DeMarco to arm himself with a gun and, in broad daylight, start shooting.

By all accounts the victim, who was unarmed, was looking the other way, showing a potential buyer his car, Mohr said. He never saw DeMarco coming.

The victim, shot in the gut and arm, was convinced he was going to die. He was hospitalized for more than a week.

“Why this happened is the bigger question,” Mohr said.

There were rumors that the victim had broken into DeMarco’s house after a falling out over business. DeMarco in his letter to the judge tells a story of being afraid of the victim and paranoid that the man was coming after him.

Defense attorney Pete Mazzone told the judge that his client was worried that his former friend was out for blood after DeMarco fired him from the business. He was concerned for his safety when he saw him that day and the man gave him a dirty look, the attorney said.

“Carlo DeMarco simply lost it,” Mazzone said.

DeMarco, his family and friends tried to convince the judge that since the shooting he has become an upstanding citizen. He graduated from barber school, found a job and got married.

“By far this is the biggest mistake I’ve ever made,” DeMarco told the judge.

Since the shooting he has made the decision to take steps to improve his life, he said.

That very well may be, but he still must be held responsible for shooting someone without provocation, Superior Court Judge Kenneth Cowsert said.

“There’s no way to mitigate what you did or make it go away,” the judge said.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.