A felony case against the Oconto city attorney involving target practice gone wrong has been resolved with no contest pleas to two misdemeanor charges.
According to Oconto County Circuit Court online records, Frank M. Calvert, 63, pleaded no contest Oct. 15 to two counts of endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon. He was originally charged with two counts of recklessly endangering safety in connection with the incident, which occurred Nov. 23, 2023.
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.
Calvert told deputies he believed the target and pumpkin had been safely placed and was surprised that a round had traveled far enough to strike a residence to the northeast. Investigators determined 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.
Kewaunee County Judge Jeffrey Wisnicky, who heard the case because both Oconto County judges recused themselves, ordered Calvert to surrender any firearms he owns to a family member for one year. The judge imposed and stayed a five-day sentence in the county jail, which would be implemented if Calvert failed to turn over the weapons.
Calvert was also ordered to make a $2,500 contribution to the Oconto County Crime Prevention Fund and restitution of $2,842.12, which have already been paid in full, along with other fines and fees.
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