In federal court: Cape man pleads guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon

The U.S. attorney's office released the following information Friday for defendants who appeared before U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr.

PLEADED GUILTY

Name: Michael G. O'Neal

Residence: Cape Girardeau

Charges: Being a previous felon in possession of a firearm.

Summary: At 12:14 a.m. May 15, officers responded to a call reporting shots fired at 134 S. Lorimier St. However, they were unable to determine the origin of the shots. At 12:35 a.m., officers heard shots again and responded to the area. One of the officers then heard what sounded like the racking of a pump action shotgun and then a shotgun blast coming from O'Neal's apartment. O'Neal walked out the front door of his residence and was handcuffed. Officers evacuated nearby apartments and conducted a sweep of the apartment. They saw a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun on the sofa, spent shell casings throughout the apartment and a bandoleer containing several shells. They also saw that the storage building behind the residence had been hit by shotgun pellets. After obtaining a search warrant, officers recovered the shotgun and shells. O'Neal later admitted that he was a previously convicted felon and that he fired the shotgun out the window of his apartment.