A US man has been jailed for 90 days after he accidentally caused a seven-hour siege when he shot his own car.
Lauriano Lawrence Lovato was sentenced to three months in jail for causing a long-lasting standoff when he shot his Camaro after it would not start.
Lovato reportedly tried to start his car in a Los Angeles street at 9am on April 13. When it failed to work, he decided to fire two rounds into the windscreen and dashboard, before going back into his house and falling asleep.
Neighbours who heard the shots rang police, who arrived to find shell casings in the driveway.
As the officers did not know what kind of incident they were attending, they put a perimeter in place and called in back-up units and a SWAT team to the scene, as well as trying to communicate with the homeowner – Lovato.
The SWAT team forced their way into his house when they arrived, finding Lovato asleep on a sofa in a back room.
He claimed he had not heard the police, despite them using a loud speaker and throwing a communication device into his house.
Lovato pleaded guilty to discharging a gun unlawfully within city limits, after agreeing a deal with the prosecution.
As well as receiving the jail term, he was ordered to serve three years’ probation.
Earlier this week, two Tampa police officers were told they would serve one-week unpaid suspensions after one accidentally shot the other when they were racing to get a key for an office desk.
