Vermont man is charged with using a shotgun to silence the smoke detector in his kitchen

Associated Press

BARTON, Vt. (AP) — A Vermont man is facing charges that he used a shotgun to silence a smoke detector in the kitchen of his apartment.

Police say two shots fired Monday afternoon from the 20-gauge shotgun owned by 68-year-old Leroy Mason, of Barton, hit the adjoining wall of an occupied apartment.

Police say Mason has complained about frequent false alarms from his smoke detector, and he was upset fire crews wouldn’t relocate it so he “took it upon himself to relocate the smoke detector, and shot it with the shotgun.”

Emergency personnel say they took the shotgun from Mason, who then pointed a handgun at them while demanding his shotgun. Emergency crews disarmed Mason.

There were no injuries.

Mason pleaded not guilty Tuesday and was released.

His attorney declined to comment.