The longtime Oconto city attorney faces charges apparently stemming from an errant bullet that struck a nearby house while he was target practicing, causing minor injuries to two people.
Frank M. Calvert, 61, of Oconto, has been charged with two counts of recklessly endangering safety, in connection with an incident that allegedly occurred Nov. 23.
According to the criminal complaint, deputies were called after a .223-caliber bullet came through a kitchen window at a residence on County Road J in the Town of Oconto.
A woman standing at the sink received small cuts from the broken glass, and the bullet struck her brother in the right shoulder. Deputies found a red mark about a half-inch wide on his shoulder that looked like something had burned his skin, the complaint said.
The deputies heard gunfire nearby and tracked it to a home on Hoehne Lane to the southwest, where they found Calvert had been shooting a .223-caliber rifle at a target and a pumpkin from the porch.
According to the complaint, Calvert said he believed the target and pumpkin had been safely placed and found it hard to believe a round had traveled far enough to strike a residence to the northeast, but deputies believed the orientation of the targets and the line of fire from the patio was consistent with the trajectory a stray round would have had to travel to hit the home on County Road J.
Both Oconto County judges recused themselves because Calvert worked with them as county court commissioner for 19 years. Calvert is scheduled to make an initial appearance in Oconto County Circuit Court before Marinette County Judge Jane Sequin on Dec. 19.
wbluhm@newmedia-wi.com
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