Oconto city attorney Calvert pleads not guilty to injuring 2 while target practicing with AR-15 rifle
The Oconto city attorney has pleaded not guilty to charges related to two people receiving minor injuries after authorities say he fired a bullet from an AR-15 rifle into a Town of Oconto home last Thanksgiving.
Frank Calvert, 61, entered his pleas Tuesday on two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety.
Calvert waived a preliminary hearing in his case and proceeded into the arrangement, where he gave his pleas.
According to a criminal complaint, Oconto County Sheriff's deputies investigating a complaint of a bullet going through a window on Nov. 23 heard shots being fired as they approached the property at 4288 Hoehne Lane.
Calvert said he was firing his Palmetto State Armory 5.56 M16A2 at a target and a pumpkin that was resting on a stump.
Calvert told an officer that he was shooting from a porch down toward the ground and that he found it hard to believe a round had traveled far enough to strike a nearby residence, according to the complaint.
An officer said the direction of fire from the patio matched the trajectory a stray round would have had to take to hit the home.
A bullet entered the home through a triple-pane window near a sink, according to the criminal complaint.
One person was struck by several pieces of glass in the face, causing small cuts to her forehead above her eye and on her cheek bone next to her left eye, a deputy said, while another person received a half-inch-long burn mark on his right shoulder.
A preliminary breath test given to Calvert showed no alcohol was in his system.
Each felony count that Calvert faces carries a maximum penalty of 12½ years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
Kewaunee County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Wisnicky is presiding over the case in Oconto County court due to conflict of interests with the two county judges. A status conference is set for 10 a.m. April 15.
Contact Kevin Dittman at 920-431-8416 or kdittman@gannett.com.
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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Oconto city attorney pleads not guilty in target shooting case
