Plea deal for man who shot closet

In addition to 19 rifles, Day was found alone at his home with three handguns, 1,180 magazines and 26,000 rounds of ammunition — all of which were allegedly legal — when police responded to his call at 2 p.m. Oct. 28 in which he said he shot multiple rounds into his closet because he suspected an intruder was in his home.

When police officers arrived at his home, they found Day in the driveway with his hands in the air, saying the FBI was after him and that the agency had put a death mark on him since 1997, according to prosecutors.

Officers found rounds from a 9 mm gun had gone through the closet and exited the exterior wall of the house. Though a party was going on at Day’s neighbor’s home at the time, no one was injured, according to prosecutors.

Day, a former University of California employee, was not arrested immediately in part because of a brief hospitalization following the incident. Binders containing instructions for the firearms along with writings about the FBI’s attempts to take his life were found in Day’s home. Further investigation revealed Day had not taken his antipsychotic medications for months and that he had smoked marijuana an hour prior to the incident, according to prosecutors.

Having previously pleaded not guilty to felony charges alleging he discharged a firearm with negligence and possessed an illegal firearm, prosecutors added another felony charge to his case in November because one of the guns found in his home was illegally modified to operate as an automatic rifle.

“Mr. Day’s conduct was scary,” said District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. “It showed serious mental health issues and we’re glad he will be under the supervision of the Probation Department to make sure there’s no further acting out.”

Day’s defense attorney Ross Green could not be immediately reached for comment.

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