Two men are facing criminal charges relating to drinking while handling AK-47 weapons and failure to operate guns safely, after a shoot-out in a residential area left several homes bullet-ridden and their occupants ordered to their basements until the police were able to apprehend the men at gunpoint, as reported by Channel 3 WKYC-television.
Montville Township police were alerted by more than one emergency call from residents complaining about of the sound of rapid gunfire – some of which had hit their homes.
The gunfire stopped momentarily when the first officer arrived. The officer spoke with several neighbors and ascertained that the gunfire had come from a northeasterly direction and he proceeded to investigate the area.
While searching though adjacent hills another round of gunfire began. Sgt. M.N. said, "I could hear bullets flying over my head. Our indications are they did not know they were hitting homes."
More calls came through 911 dispatch, again from the same callers that had reported the gunfire after the first episode. Again residents said that their homes were being struck with gunfire.
With the second episode, residents were instructed to go to down into their basements and not to come out until the gunfire stopped.
M.K., in her home with her two adult daughters and son-in-law, said she was "grateful my grandkids weren't here." M.K.'s home had two bullet holes in her living room and one in her kitchen. The family had been in the kitchen just before the second shooting began.
M.K. added, ""I think people need to be very careful with what they do with their weapons. Take a second thought at the fact that bullets can penetrate. Look what it penetrated."
A third round of bullets hit the homes just as additional police arrived. Seconds later two officers confronted two men at gunpoint and ordered them to the ground. The men had been shooting off rounds from one of the homes' backyards.
M.B., 53 and R.D.V., 45, were taken into custody. They are currently being held in the Montville Jail waiting for charges to be filed.
Both men passed background checks and target practice is not illegal in Montville Township, according to Sgt. M.N.
An AF-47 rifle, 9 mm handgun, 380 handgun and 22 revolver were seized. Along with the weapons over 700 rounds of ammunition were discovered. Paper targets were also collected, and no backstops were found.
None of the homes' residents were hurt.
Officers from both the Medina Township Police Department and the Medina County Sheriff's Department were utilized during the arrests.
The bullet found in the microwave was at head level, however none of the residents in the homes were hurt.
Both men will be facing felony charges at their arraignment in Medina County Court.
If you are facing unexpected criminal charges contact a criminal defense attorney to best argue your case. Your attorney's experience handling criminal cases will benefit you.
