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Charges Dropped Against Accused Pacifica BB Gun Shooters
Case against two men arrested by SWAT teams in January on suspicion of firing at paragliders would have tough to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, prosecutors say.
The San Mateo County District Attorney's Office on Monday dismissed assault charges against two men who were arrested in January for allegedly shooting BB guns at paragliders in Pacifica.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Karen Guidotti said it was unlikely that prosecutors would be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that great bodily injury could have been caused by the defendants' actions.
Edward Amatori, 51, of San Francisco, and Alex Attard, 40, of Daly City, were taken into custody on Jan 7 after a SWAT team responded to reports of shots fired at Mussel Rock Park, a popular launching point for paragliders, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.
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Three paragliders had been preparing to take off when as many as four shots were fired at them, one striking the ground near them, prosecutors said.
Daly City police responded, and an officer spotted two men carrying what appeared to be rifles on a trail below the bluffs.
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A SWAT team was called in, and Amatori and Attard were allegedly seen firing dozens of times at undetermined targets, Wagstaffe said.
No one was struck or injured, and the men were apprehended. The guns were determined to be .22-caliber pellet rifles.
Based on the type of weapon the shooters used and their distance from the paragliders, it could not be proven that the paragliders could have been seriously injured, Guidotti said.
No further charges will be pursued against the two men, she said.
- Bay City News
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