Ephrata man gets five months for shooting at neighbor's apartment

An Ephrata man was sentenced to five months in jail, after he made an Alford plea to second-degree assault with a deadly weapon and reckless endangerment for allegedly shooting at his neighbor’s apartment in August 2020.

Erik Martin Leal, 27, made the plea — not admitting to the crime, but agreeing evidence likely would convict him — with prosecutors for the Aug. 21, 2020 incident in which he shot at least one bullet just before 11:35 p.m. at the apartment.

The bullet went through his neighbor’s apartment window, damaged a television, and continued through the bathroom and a bedroom closet, where it was found. Debris struck a resident of the apartment on D Street Southwest, records stated, who also said Leal was intoxicated.

Police found alcohol and blood outside Leal’s apartment, records stated, and they contacted the landlord to enter it and check on his girlfriend and child. No one was home when police entered, but they found more alcohol.

Police found Leal’s truck and him at his mother’s home, where his mother told them Leal claimed someone was giving him trouble at his apartment and pointed a gun at him, after which Leal shot one round into the air. She also let police inside her home, where Leal was asleep on the couch. Police arrested him and saw a gun in open view in his truck and seized it, records stated.

Besides getting five months in jail on Jan. 25, which runs concurrently with the 364 days for count two (214 of which were suspended), he received one year in community custody and was ordered to pay $600 in fees.

With an offender score of zero, or having no prior criminal convictions, Leal’s standard sentence under state law would be three to nine months in jail for the first count and zero to 364 days for the second. The maximum would be 10 years and/or a $20,000 fine for the first and 364 days and/or a $5,000 fine for the second.