VIDEO: Parents of 10-month-old Collette Nicoli describe how she was narrowly missed by gunfire. CLICK HERE if you’re having trouble viewing the video or gallery on your mobile device.

SAN RAMON — Charges were filed last week against a man who allegedly fired a shotgun into an apartment unit in February. Yet, don’t think for one minute that the Nicoli-Wallunas family is satisfied with the justice authorities are seeking against their neighbor, William Millard.

“It’s absolutely insane,” Alex Nicoli says. “It makes you wonder.”

Alex Nicoli, 33, has repaired the holes that were in the ceiling of his apartment unit at the Promontory Apartments off Deerwood Roads, as well as the dust and other damage to his furniture he said was caused when gunfire erupted from the apartment unit above them, sending buckshots through the family’s ceiling and barely missing Alex’s wife, Tanis Wallunas, 36, and their infant daughter Collette. Tanis’ 10-year-old son, Dominic, also was in the room.

“I thought it was a bomb or something like that right away,” Dominic says. “There was dust everywhere.”

Millard, 25, has been charged by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office with possessing a short-barreled shotgun and various other charges not related to the firing of the weapon. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Contra Costa County Superior Court on Thursday morning.

“It’s a miracle they are both still alive,” says Don Nicoli, Collette’s grandfather. “It’s been very frustrating, because the police and DA’s office seem very reluctant to prosecute him for shooting into a house and nearly missing a baby and her mother. When they’ve talked to us, they haven’t told us much.”

San Ramon police investigated the shooting and made an initial arrest of Millard 10 days later, only to release him. Don Nicoli became vocal in his discontent with the process, emailing on March 4 a flier of perceived misdoings to both San Ramon Police Chief Dan Pratt and Capt. Greg Stevens; state Sen. Steve Glazer and Rep. Eric Swalwell; and Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Tompkins.

On March 7, the DA’s office announced that charges against Millard had been filed. He also faces allegations that he received stolen property valued under $950, stole identifying information, possessed methamphetamine and possessed burglary tools.

All of which leaves the family with a lot of questions.

“With every question we ask,” Wallunas said, “the answer creates only more questions.”

Police and investigators do not deny that a gun went off. According to the family, all four were home around 2:30 p.m. when Collette began crying. After muffled yelling above the ceiling from disgruntled neighbors, Alex Nicoli says a shotgun blast cascaded through the ceiling and into the living room, with the buckshots barely missing Collette and Tanis.

San Ramon police investigated the shooting and spokesman Lt. Cary Goldberg would not comment on specifics of the case. But while investigators don’t dispute the validity that the gun fired, they say specific intent is often quite difficult to prove in a trial.

“I can tell you this, the District Attorney’s Office makes the decision to prosecute based often on what they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury,” Goldberg said. “Generally, in cases like this, you have to have that specific intent and it has to be beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Authorities came to their decision despite pictures the Nicoli-Wallunas family says it took that show bullet holes in their unit and months of documentation that detailed the family in a constant battle for peace with their upstairs neighbors. Notes that Wallunas took showed neighbors had an apparent disdain for noise from the baby.

Don Nicoli says investigators overlooked the fact that the gun appeared to be right against the edge of the floor and that the buckshot was fired in the direction of the baby noise.

“We investigated diligently from the time we got the initial information,” Goldberg said. “As new information came forward, we investigated that, and then we submitted our findings to the District Attorney, as we do with every case.”

Says Don Nicoli: “First they told us he was merely cleaning the gun. Then we were told he was discharging shells from the gun. Neither explanation seems to be supported by the facts.”

They also say they have not received a police report, and that communication between them and law enforcement authorities has been sporadic.

“Individuals in possession of illegal firearms will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton said in a statement released Tuesday. “My office reviewed all possible charges with due diligence and charged what we believe can be proven in a court of law and with information we have to date. We have communicated with the victim’s family on more than 10 occasions through phone and email during the entire process.”

Millard remained in custody Wednesday at the county jail in Martinez in lieu of $40,000 bail.