An Armstrong man faces two felonies and a misdemeanor after he allegedly fired a pistol at neighbors on Sunday afternoon while drunk. Michael Edwin Riddell, 60, is charged with Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Subsection 9, Shooting at a Person, a Class B felony, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, a Class C felony, and Unlawful Discharge Of A Firearm - 1st Offense, a Class A Misdemeanor.

In a probable cause statement, Sgt. Jason Esau of the Howard County Sheriff’s Department responded to a shots-fired call on Snoddy Street shortly after 4 p.m. Sunday. A resident told deputies that while he stood in his driveway, Riddell “pointed a pistol at him and discharged it” about six times from near his yard, approximately 350 feet away.

Sgt. Esau contacted Riddell outside his home at 206 Snoddy Street and recovered a black Hi-Point CF380 pistol from his pocket. About four .380 shell casings were found in the roadway. The magazine held six .380 rounds with one in the chamber, according to the probable cause statement. A nearby witness told deputies he had heard about eight shots in rapid succession and that Riddell and an unidentified man on a motorcycle initially said they had been shooting the pistol into a dirt pile, though no dirt pile was found.

Riddell at first denied firing a gun and claimed he had ignited fireworks, the report states. In his report, Sgt. Esau also reported the odor of alcohol and said Riddell acknowledged drinking beer and tequila earlier that day.

Riddell remains in the Howard County Jail without bond. If convicted, he faces five to 15 years in prison for the Class B felony of shooting at his neighbor, three to 10 years in prison for possessing the firearm, since he was convicted of a felony in 1988, and up to a year in the county jail and/or a fine of up to $2,000 for misdemeanor unlawful discharge of a firearm.

Riddell is also being held on $250 bond on a warrant for failing to appear in court on a charge from April of this year for driving while revoked or suspended, a Class D misdemeanor.

No court date was listed among online court records, but it is expected that Riddell will appear for arraignment this week.