STEUBENVILLE - Darson Williams, 37, of Pittsburgh was sentenced to seven years in prison on Tuesday by Jefferson County Common Pleas Judge Joseph Bruzzese Jr. after Williams pleaded guilty to charges stemming from shots fired in the 500 block of Maxwell Avenue on Dec. 27.
Williams was indicted on two counts of improperly discharging a firearm into a house and single counts of felonious assault, with a firearm specification, and having a weapon as a convicted felon.
City Police reported Williams fired shots at a man near a vehicle on Maxwell Avenue. Police reported gunshots hit two houses and the vehicle. The intended victim wasn't injured, police reported.
Williams told Bruzzese he fired shots at the man because he feared the man was going to his vehicle to get a gun.
"I shot at the vehicle. I wasn't trying to hurt anyone. The bullet went through the (vehicle) and hit a house. I know I'm wrong for what I did," Williams told the judge.
Bruzzese told Williams he could claim self-defense at trial but Williams said he wanted to plead guilty to the charges.
Williams previously was convicted of a drug offense in Pittsburgh and wasn't allowed to have a gun.
The Jefferson County Prosecutor's Office contacted the Allegheny County Sheriff's Department inquiring about Williams' whereabouts after he was indicted by the Jefferson County grand jury in February. The Allegheny County Sheriff's Department also found drug-related warrants out of Allegheny County, including a domestic relations warrant.
The Allegheny County Sheriff's Department then began searching for Williams, locating him at a house in the Hill District section of Pittsburgh on Feb. 9.
Also, Melissa M. Dennis, 27, of 414 Logan Ave., Mingo Junction, was placed on one year of probation by Bruzzese on Tuesday after pleading guilty to breaking and entering and theft.
Dennis was charged with breaking into a home in Brilliant on Dec. 9 and stealing rings. Bruzzese ordered Dennis to pay $280 in restitution to the victim.
