Steven Fletcher to be sentenced in August

STAR JOURNAL REPORT

A Rhinelander area man who was accused of trying to shoot his ex-girlfriend’s son a year ago has reached a plea agreement in Oneida County Circuit Court.

Steven J. Fletcher, 47, was charged with attempted first degree homicide, burglary while armed, operating a firearm while intoxicated, disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property resulting from an incident at a town of Pelican apartment complex in March, 2017.

Tuesday assistant district attorney Jillian Pfeifer amended the attempted homicide charge to first degree recklessly endangering safety, a class F felony to which Fletcher entered a no contest plea along with operating a firearm while intoxicated.

Charges of burglary, disorderly conduct and damage to property were dismissed but read in. He will be sentenced August 15. A class F felony carries a maximum penalty of 12 years six months imprisonment and a $25,000 fine.

According to reports from the sheriff’s department included with the criminal complaint, Fletcher was reportedly intoxicated the night of March 11, 2017, when he had driven up to an apartment complex on Cranes Road and fired at least two shots outside.

Fletcher was also accused of having broken into an apartment when he shot at his ex-girlfriend’s son, who then was able to wrestle the gun away from Fletcher and took it to a friend’s apartment. A sheriff’s department report further stated that Fletcher’s ex-girlfriend had been asleep in the apartment when Fletcher allegedly broke in and she woke up to loud bangs and screaming before Fletcher ran out of the residence after having his gun taken away.

A sheriff’s deputy who responded to the scene reported finding Fletcher outside smoking a cigarette while sitting on a chair against an apartment building, where he was handcuffed after falling to the ground and taken into custody.

The sheriff’s department investigation at the scene found a bullet entered a coffee table inside the apartment along with a wood splinter and lead fragment in the carpet, while a .22 long rifle casing was also located near the sliding glass patio doors of the apartment, according to a sheriff’s department report.

A Ruger semi-automatic pistol reportedly fired in the apartment and wrestled away from Fletcher was also recovered and taken as evidence.