Police say shots-fired incident involved BB gun
JANESVILLE — It turns out BB guns are a lot louder than most people think.
Charges have been reduced for one man, and a second man has been arrested after police learned a BB gun was the source of the shots reported Wednesday night near downtown Janesville.
Police on Friday arrested Riley Richardson, 26, of 315 W. Van Buren St., Janesville, on a charge of disorderly conduct while armed, a misdemeanor. Richardson told police he was the person who fired shots at 9:13 p.m. Wednesday near his home on the corner of Van Buren and Jackson streets.
Jonathon M. Aguiniga, 25, same address, was arrested without incident Wednesday near his home on a tentative charge of recklessly endangering safety. The investigation continued Thursday, and on Friday prosecutors decided Aguiniga should be charged only with disorderly conduct.
A number of residents called 911 Wednesday when they heard the shots, according to police reports. Police arrived to find a number of people running off. A witness told police that Aguiniga shot the gun down the street.
Aguiniga and Richardson were fighting with another individual about comments made about another person’s girlfriend, according to police reports.
Richardson turned himself in Friday. The two look similar and have similar statures, said Assistant Rock County District Attorney Gerald Urbik.
A Janesville police investigator fired the weapon and confirmed the sound was similar to that recorded by Rock County Communications during the 911 calls, Urbik said. Investigators demonstrated the shot for the witness, who said it sounded similar, he said.
There was no physical evidence of gunshots, and no one was injured, Urbik said about the reduced charge.
“From everything I can see, it did not involve a real firearm,” Urbik said. “Obviously, our job is not just to arrest and prosecute but to get it right. I think JPD did that in this case.”
