By Shereen Siewert
WAUSAU — A 33-year-old Weston man who police say fired a handgun into a neighbor’s apartment will avoid prison if he stays out of trouble for two years.
Aaron Barnett faced five felony counts of second degree recklessly endangering safety in connection with the March 4 incident, according to Marathon County Circuit Court records. As part of a plea agreement, the charges were amended, and Barnett was convicted of four counts of endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon, all misdemeanors.
Barnett was given a withheld sentence during a plea hearing Friday and was ordered to spend two years on probation. That means means the court has not imposed a sentence and has ordered Barnett to be placed instead in the custody of the Department of Corrections through community-based supervision.
According to the criminal complaint:
Everest Metro Police officers responded at 11:28 p.m. on March 4, 2017 to a residence in the 5900 block of Delikowski Street in Weston after a woman called to report shots had been fired at her home. When police arrived, they found a bullet hole in a bedroom window. The bullet passed through a door and into an adjacent bathroom. Five people were inside the home, but no one was injured in the shooting.
Officers traced the bullet’s trajectory to Barnett’s home, in the 3000 block of Jelinek Avenue. Inside the residence, they confiscated two weapons: a loaded 12-gauge pump action shotgun and a 9mm handgun, according to the police report.
Barnett initially denied firing either weapon and blamed the shooting on a friend. The friend, whose name was not publicly released because he is not a suspect, told police Barnett called him the night of the shooting and admitted firing a gun, saying the bullet had gone into a neighbor’s apartment.
Circuit Judge Mike Moran also ordered Barnett not to possess any firearms, and to undergo alcohol or drug treatment and counseling. In addition, Barnett paid $1,740 in restitution to the victims in the case and was ordered to write a letter of apology.
