A Woodruff man accused of pointing a gun during what was described as a 'road rage' incident has a chance to have charges against him dropped if he follows court guidelines.
34 year old Michael Schettino was arrested May 16 after law enforcement agencies were called concerning a road rage incident. An eyewitness alleged Schettino was pointing a gun along Highway 51. The staff at M-H-L-T school initiated a preventative lockdown of the school as the chase ended at Lee Road and Titus Road not far from the school. Later, M-H-L-T officials obtained a restraining order to keep Schettino off the grounds.
Oneida County Judge Michael Bloom accepted District Attorney Michael Schiek's recommendation to drop two of the more serious charges in favor of getting a plea bargain from Schettino to misdemeanor pointing a weapon and disorderly conduct charges. Bloom also accepted a deferred prosecution agreement, which would give Schettino a chance to have the incident not appear on his records if he follows the court recommendations...
"....based on the record, he has made a knowing and voluntary decision to plead no contest. I have reviewed the complaint in this matter and there is a sufficient factual basis to accept the pleas...."
Charges dismissed included having a firearm on a school grounds and a violation of concealed carry law.
While Schettino could have gotten maximums of a year in jail and fines over ten thousand dollars, the agreement finds that if Schettino meets the demands of the court, the matter would be dismissed in 2016.
One court requirment is for Schettino to continue counseling through the Veteran's Administration.
Schettino told Judge Bloom that he had worked out an agreement with school officials to be able to stop by M-H-L-T as part of parenting duties, but no written agreement was presented to the court.
