Jeff Fleming pleaded guilty to a felony charge of battery with a deadly weapon after firing a single shot with a shotgun at a golfer on the 16th hole of Lakeridge Golf Course in Reno, Nev. in September 2012, causing minor injuries to the golfer’s arm and both legs. Fleming faces up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine when sentenced on December 12.
A Nevada man accused of shooting a golfer who broke a window at his home with an errant ball has pleaded guilty to a felony charge, according to a report by the Associated Press.
Jeff Fleming, 53, of Reno, Nev. entered the plea to battery with a deadly weapon on October 17 in Washoe County District Court. He faces from probation to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine when he’s sentenced on December 12, the AP reported.
In return for Fleming’s guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to drop an assault with a deadly weapon charge and to go along with the Division of Parole and Probation’s recommended sentence for him.
The incident occurred in September 2012 after a golfer was unable to find his ball and was taking a drop on the 16th hole of the Lakeridge Golf Course in Reno, when Fleming approached and fired a single shot at him with a shotgun, prosecutors said. The golfer was treated for minor injuries to an arm and both legs at a hospital.
Police said the golfer and his partner ran away after the shot was fired and it wasn’t until they were safe that the golfer realized he had been hit, the AP reported. One or two shotgun pellets had to be removed from his body at the hospital.
The area around the 16th hole was evacuated after the shooting. Fleming drove to his attorney’s office, where he surrendered without incident.
Deputy District Attorney Sean Neahusan said neighbors along the golf course were stunned by the incident, as it’s common for stray golf balls to hit their homes.
“Live on a golf course and you got to expect your house to get hit every once in a while,” Neahusan told the AP. “This [shooting] is one of those stories that you just can’t make it up.”
Neahusan added that he was unsure what motivated the shooting and referred queries about Fleming’s mental state to his lawyer, Larry Dunn. The AP reported that Dunn did not immediately return phone calls.
Fleming has expressed remorse and shock over his reaction to the broken window, Neahusan said, adding that he apparently has no felony criminal record.
“I’m not sure what was going on, but from what I’ve read and heard, it definitely sounds out of character,” the prosecutor said.
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