BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — A Bloomington man acquitted of attempted murder in December is back in jail for allegedly shooting a gun several times into a wooded area between apartment complexes on the Fourth of July.
BACKGROUND
Sean Rivers, 23, is charged with criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, a level 5 felony, and false informing, a class B misdemeanor.
According to court documents, on July 4, Bloomington Police responded to an apartment complex off Kinser Drive around 11:30 p.m. for a report of shots fired.
When police arrived at the complex, they talked with a man who said a neighbor, identified as Rivers, had come out of an apartment and fired a gun into a wooded area on the property. The man also gave police Ring Doorbell footage that captured the incident.
Court documents state that police contacted Rivers in his home and he admitted he had a gun, but it was put away.
Police then looked at the security camera footage and noted that Rivers was seen coming out of his apartment wearing the same clothes he had on when talking to police.
While walking outside towards a line of trees, Rivers allegedly could be heard saying, "I gotta wait 'till the fireworks come back on so I can pull this b--ch."
Then, the officer reported that Rivers can be heard in the footage saying, "Pop, Pop, Pop," and the officer heard a sound that is common when a person checks to see if there is a round in the chamber of a gun.
According to court documents, River stopped a car-length away from the line of trees, raised the gun above his head and fired a single round through the trees towards an unoccupied apartment complex and Jackson Heights apartments.
"All of these people being put in danger by a firearm being discharged in this direction," the officer wrote in the police report.
Court documents state Rivers then walked closer to the trees and fired the gun three more times.
A child on the porch of his apartment yelled, "What are you doing?" the officer wrote.
Rivers later allegedly told police the gun seen in the video was the gun that officers took from the apartment.
Police reported finding two shell casings while searching Rivers, and he told police it were the shells from the rounds he shot near the tree line.
Rivers had his initial hearing in court on Tuesday and entered a not guilty plea.
He was later released. He’s due back in court in August.
If convicted, Rivers could face up to two and a half years in prison, according to Indiana Sentencing Guidelines.
2023 SHOOTING ACQUITTAL
In December, a Monroe County jury found Rivers not guilty of shooting a 51-year-old man in a Subway parking lot in Bloomington.
At the time, police say they found the man with a gunshot wound to his chest.
Witnesses told police that an argument ensued between Rivers and the man over where the victim had parked his vehicle.
He was arrested at his apartment a short time later and charged with attempted murder, a level 1 felony.
With the not-guilty verdict, Rivers was released from jail and the charges were expunged.
