Stoddard County man pleads guilty in drunken shooting incident

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A Dexter man charged in connection with a January shooting pleaded guilty to a lesser charge Thursday, the Daily Statesman reported.

According to Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Briney Welborn, Nicholas Griffin, 29, entered a plea of guilty to the Class A misdemeanor of possession of a gun while intoxicated.

Griffin was sentenced to two years of supervised probation and will be ordered to undergo a specialized treatment program.

He was arrested following a Jan. 31 shooting in a vehicle in Dexter.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed by Det. Cory Mills with the Dexter Police Department, as Griffin and two friends were leaving the Vikings Club in Dexter, 28-year-old Kevin Vaughn, who was driving the vehicle, attempted to pass a loaded Springfield .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol to Griffin in the back seat.

Griffin grabbed the pistol and accidentally discharged the pistol going through the seat and into Vaughn's lower back.

While the shooting was not believed to be intentional, law enforcement made it clear that "reckless" behavior can still result in criminal charges.