There's a right way and a wrong way to get the most from your home security technology.

Not too long ago we wrote about an apartment dweller who achieved spectacular results from deploying a do-it-yourself video surveillance system after being victimized by a burglary. That's the right way.

(2010's 25 Geekiest 25th Anniversaries)

Wrong way? Meet Stephen Consigli, 48, of nearby Ashland, Mass., who police responding to a noise complaint allege took an early Fourth of July celebration a bit too far Saturday night. From a story in the MetroWest Daily News (my local paper and former employer):

When police got to the house, they found Consigli sitting on his back deck holding a beer. He said he had been shooting off fireworks.

"The officers observed some shell casings near where Mr. Consigli was sitting," (Lt. Richard) Briggs said. "It was determined he was firing off a shotgun."

A search of the house found that Consigli possesses both an impressive gun collection and the requisite licensing for same, although here in suburban Massachusetts it is considered both unneighborly and illegal to discharge weapons willy-nilly from one's back porch, even on the eve of Independence Day. The shell casings alone probably would have been enough to land Consigli in hot water, but there was more incriminating evidence at hand, according to authorities.

Police later got a search warrant and found that Consigli had a police scanner and a home security system that included a surveillance camera, Briggs said. Police watched what the camera recorded.

"It shows Mr. Consigli firing off the shotgun in the back deck, and then hiding the firearms about 18 seconds before the officers come to the backyard," Briggs said. The lieutenant said Consigli hid the weapons when he heard on the scanner that police were at his home.

Wrong way, all right.