BROTHERS GET PRISON TERMS; LAKE HUGHES EATERY SHOOTING SPREE BRINGS SEVEN-YEAR SENTENCES.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

Two brothers have each been sentenced to seven years in prison for shooting up Lake Hughes Rock Inn after they were thrown out for using foul language while shooting pool.

No one was hurt in the February 16, 1998, incident in which customers and the bartender ducked down as .22-caliber rifle bullets came through the window.

Donald Colbert, 25, of Temple City and Edward Colbert, 27, of Pasadena were sentenced Tuesday after pleading no contest to shooting into an inhabited building. Charges of attempted murder were dismissed.

``Just like any other disposition, we evaluated the case - its strengths and weaknesses. We evaluated their records and background,'' Deputy District Attorney Chris Estes said. ``Based on the totality of the circumstances, it's our position that this was a solid disposition.''

Estes said the conviction will count as a strike for both brothers, both of whom had no prior felony record. The defendants were tracked down through a license plate number.

The two brothers were in the restaurant shooting pool when they started to get ``obnoxious'' and use foul language, restaurant workers said. They were asked to be quiet three times, but they didn't comply.

When the bartender asked them to leave, one of them swore at her and both came toward her. At that time, the owner escorted the men outside, workers said.

When the bartender went to the restaurant window to write down their license plate number, she said she noticed one of the men opening the trunk and loading a weapon.

The restaurant door was locked, and everybody inside the restaurant - about a dozen people, including two infants - fled to the kitchen, the bartender said.

After a few minutes passed, nothing happened, so everyone came back out. At that point, the brothers' car drove by, and shots were fired through the windows, the bartender said.