Ceiling shooter receives probation

A former Naval officer and retired California attorney was sentenced to up to three years' probation on Monday for firing gunshots into his ceiling, hitting the leg of his upstairs neighbor in a call for help after he suspected he was going into diabetic shock.

Richard Stanley Lanave, 70, appeared before Judge Todd Russell in Carson City District Court.

Lanave pleaded guilty to one count of discharging a firearm where a person might be endangered.

Lanave fired several rounds into the ceiling of his Imperial Way apartment on Oct. 1 after he found himself suffering from low blood sugar and unable to make his way to the phone.

The bullets continued through the ceiling and mattress and then through the thigh and ankle of upstairs neighbor Brian Kennedy who was sleeping next to his girlfriend and just feet away from a bassinet that held his newborn child.

"He feels very guilty that he injured someone," said Lanave's attorney Deputy Public Defender Stephanie Travis, who told the judge Lanave paid two months' rent for the couple after he learned Kennedy's injuries made it impossible for him to work.

Deputy District Attorney Kristin Luis did not argue against probation, but pointed out to the judge that the case was "scary," and asked Russell to prohibit Lanave from owning guns during his probation.

"He could have easily killed somebody," she said.

In addition to probation, Russell gave Lanave a suspended jail sentence of 12 months, 100 hours of community service and he must pay $1,000 a month in restitution for Kennedy's $38,000 medical bill.