BILLINGS - A Billings woman accused of firing a gun in the direction of her neighbors and a nearby school was arraigned Tuesday in Yellowstone County District Court.
Jessica Danielle Schnetter, 45, appeared in court by video from the county jail. A judge entered pleas of not guilty on her behalf to felony charges of criminal endangerment with a weapons enhancement and criminal mischief with a pecuniary loss of more than $1,500. She was also charged with a misdemeanor count of assault.
The judge set Schnetter's bond at $25,000 after noting the conduct alleged involved the use of a firearm.
Schnetter was arrested Sunday after police were called to a neighborhood on Carlton Avenue SW near Ponderosa Elementary School after residents said a verbal dispute over a parked car turned violent.
During the dispute, Schnetter allegedly charged at one person, ripped off his shirt and scratched him on the back, charging documents state. She also allegedly caused damage to a neighbor's car that had been parked in the street in front of her home. Video taken by the neighbors shows Schnetter using a large piece of wood to smash the windows of the car. The damage was estimated at $2,000.
The neighbors said Schnetter then retrieved a firearm and shot toward them and the nearby school. Schnetter was arrested by officers who responded to the neighbor's 911 call. Nobody was hit by the gunfire, but officers recovered several spent .45-caliber shell casings from Schnetter's front porch and two .45-caliber slugs lodged in the lawn of her front yard, court records state.
After Schnetter was arrested, officers who searched her residence located a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun under her mattress.
Schnetter told officers after her arrest that she was frustrated with her neighbors because they are up at all hours of the night being loud, charging documents state. She said she noticed the neighbor's car parked in front of her house that morning when she left for work, and it was still there when she returned home.
Schnetter said she "confronted her neighbors about the vehicle and said they laughed and cussed at her," court records state. Schnetter "then went back to work to 'cool off.' When she returned home, the vehicle was still parked in front of her house, so she confronted her neighbors again. They again laughed at her, so she grabbed a log and used it to hit the vehicle. (Schnetter) said she then went back into her house, smoked a cigarette, and retrieved her handgun. She said she went to her backyard and fired multiple shots into the ground. Next, (Schnetter) said she went to the front yard and fired more shots into the ground. (Schnetter) denied shooting at anyone."
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