A man who pointed a loaded shotgun at his neighbor during a dispute over noise was convicted of brandishing a deadly weapon this week, the district attorney’s office said today.
Prosecutors said David Aviel, 31, was stomping on his apartment floor in the Parkmerced area on November 10, 2010, when his downstairs neighbor stepped out into the garden area of the apartment building and asked him to stop.
The stomping continued, and the neighbor’s guest also stepped outside and yelled at Aviel to stop, Assistant District Attorney Seth Steward said. The stomping only grew louder, and when the neighbor’s guest stepped outside again, Aviel pointed a shotgun at him.
The neighbor stepped outside to see what was happening, thinking the gun was only a BB gun, but when Aviel pumped the shotgun, the guest pushed her back inside and told her to call 911. The guest remained out in the yard, zig zagging while Aviel tracked him with the shotgun barrel, Steward said.
When police arrived and took Aviel into custody, they found that the shotgun had a live round in the chamber and four rounds in the magazine.
Aviel had a three-day trial before Judge Anne-Christine Massullo, and was convicted by a jury on Wednesday Aug. 17 after less than four hours of deliberation, Steward said.
Sentencing is scheduled to take place on Friday, Sept. 30. Aviel faces a maximum sentence of a year in county jail.
Sara Gaiser, Bay City News
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