BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

DEBORD — A man was sentenced Thursday to five years each on four counts of wanton endangerment for firing bullets into Debord residences with occupants inside in August 2023.

The midnight shooting took place on Sandlick Road when Joseph L. Stevens of Lovely arrived at the home of his girlfriend’s ex-husband armed with a High Point .40 S&W Pistol and fired more than a dozen bullets into two dwellings. An individual accompanying Stevens wielded a baseball bat.

Police unearthed numerous bullets embedded in the dwellings following the attack.

Last week, the Martin Circuit Court diverted Stevens’ four concurrent five-year sentences. For three years, he cannot contact the victims Austin Harless, Homer Harless Sr., Homer Harless Jr. and Shawn Moore.

Stevens will serve 365 days of home incarceration but will be permitted to attend work.