Suspended sentence for man who accidentally fired rifle sending bullet into neighbor’s kitchen wall

MANCHESTER, NH – On the morning he was to undergo hip surgery, 70-year-old Alexander Anagnos decided, for safety reasons, to unload his extensive collection of weapons.

“I know I made a mistake,” Anagnos told Judge Diane Nicolosi Thursday at his sentencing in Hillsborough County Superior Court Northern District on a reckless conduct charge.  “I am usually very careful. I was in a rush and I made a mistake.”

An AR-15 rifle he was unloading fired just before 6 a.m. on Oct. 8 in his second-floor apartment at 448 Kelley St. sending a bullet into his downstairs neighbors’ apartment.

According to court documents, Anagnos told police he took the magazine out of his AR-15, racked the bolt back and locked it.  He said he did not let the bolt go, and it shouldn’t have had one in the chamber but it did.  The rifle fired with the round hitting the floor.

The bullet went into the first-floor apartment, lodging in a kitchen wall, according to defense attorney Anthony Sculimbrene.  Three people were in the apartment at the time although no one was injured.

During the hearing, the judge asked Anagnos if he could see her since she said he was cutting in and out on her video. He leaned forward and waved at the camera – to the amusement of the attorneys and others watching the video hearing — and told her he could see her from her glasses up.

Sculimbrene said his client just “felt terrible” about what happened and noted that he has no criminal record.  He goes to work each day in construction in Boston, Sculimbrene said.  He also said Anagnos’ nephew was taking possession of the firearms.

Originally, Anagnos was charged with felony reckless conduct.  That was reduced to a misdemeanor and, in exchange for a guilty plea, he was given a 12-month suspended sentence and ordered to complete a firearm safety class.  He also is barred from owning a firearm for two years.