Man ordered to pay restitution, complete gun class to avoid possible conviction

A Floyd man who fired a bullet through his neighbor’s living room window has agreed to pay restitution and attend a gun-safety class.

Gabriel Angel-Ray King, 31, pleaded guilty to a single felony charge before Floyd County Circuit Court Judge Gerald Mabe Tuesday.

Mabe said the evidence was sufficient to find King guilty of discharging a firearm at a house, but the judge continued the case for six months to allow King time to make amends.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Eric Branscom told the court that King told police that he was aiming at a bear when he fired multiple shots in the summer of 2025.

Paul Messineo, the neighbor, told the Floyd Times Wednesday that one bullet crashed through the window of a room at the rear of his house that he uses a second living room, hitting a chair. “Had I been sitting in that chair, it would have got me right in the head,” Messineo said.

Adding that two other shots hit his carport, Messineo called King’s actions “pretty stupid.”

King was told to return to court in March with an in-person gun class completed and a $922.83 bill for repairs to Messineo’s property paid. The judge said he would be inclined to dismiss the matter without entering a conviction if King complies.

One or more guns taken as evidence on the day of the incident are still in the custody of authorities, according to Branscom. King is entitled to ask for the firearms back, the prosecutor said.