RESEDA : Man Gets 9 Months for Firing Into Sky
A Reseda gang member who fired a gun outside a party has been sentenced to nine months in jail.
Van Nuys Municipal Court Commissioner Mitchell Block imposed the sentence Thursday on Jose Francisco Mata, who was convicted of one misdemeanor count of grossly negligent discharge of a firearm, said Deputy City Atty. Debra Siedorf said.
“We wanted to send the message that firing a gun, even if it’s true that he fired it into the sky, is an act that we won’t tolerate in this city,” Siedorf said. “The bullets could come down and hit someone.”
The maximum sentence is one year in County Jail, but prosecutors requested the shorter term because Mata did not have an extensive criminal record, Siedorf said.
Police observed Mata firing a .38-caliber revolver four times outside a party in Pacoima on March 20, she said. Mata also was sentenced to another 30 days in jail for driving with a suspended license, which police discovered during his arrest, she said.
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