A Carson City man pleaded guilty Wednesday to brandishing a handgun in a Gardnerville grocery-store parking lot and received a six-month suspended sentence in Douglas County Jail.
Herman Rublio Aguirre, 25, told East Fork Justice Jim EnEarl he found the loaded .25-caliber handgun under a tree in a park in Carson City.
The gun was reported stolen from South Lake Tahoe.
"I manage to run into the luckiest people on earth," EnEarl said. "They find money, guns, credit cards, dope. I've never found any of that."
A charge of possession of stolen property was dismissed.
Witnesses said Aguirre and his cousin were shopping at Smith's in Gardnerville when they were approached by two men who challenged them to fight and reportedly threatened them with a knife.
Aguirre's lawyer, Terri Roeser, said her client was not a gang member.
"He didn't point the gun, he only showed it," Roeser said. "The other individual had a knife."
Roeser said Aguirre is married with three children and is his family's sole support as a landscaper.
Conditions of Aguirre's suspended sentence include no alcohol or controlled substances and random search and seizure for drugs, alcohol and stolen property.
"You may not possess a firearm for one year," EnEarl said. "If you do any of these things you will be back in jail."