Phila. man, 47, sentenced to 20 years for firing gun in the air

PHILADELPHIA - Francis Aponte, a 47-year-old Philadelphia man, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday for firing a weapon into the air.

Aponte was at an outdoor party in June 2012 when two Philadelphia police officers saw him shoot a gun into the sky.

CBS Philadelphia reports that the act in question, in addition to Aponte's criminal record, which includes at least one prior felony, has resulted in the lengthy 20-year sentence handed down Tuesday.

No one was hurt, but federal prosecutor Jose Arteaga argued that the defendant committed a potentially lethal offense.

"I can cite an example of a four-year-old boy who was killed when the bullet entered the top of his head when an individual fired a gun into the air," said Arteaga, reports CBS Philly. "There was a 7-year-old that was killed. There was a 34-year-old woman that was killed while she was standing in a backyard."