Gun near Waukesha high school, motion filed to drop charges

Gun near Waukesha high school, attorney wants charges dropped

A Waukesha man is accused of pointing a rifle outside Waukesha North High School last month. His attorney wants two of four charges dropped.

WAUKESHA, Wis. - Prosecutors say an 18-year-old man pointed a rifle outside Waukesha North High School last month, but his defense attorney said Wednesday, May 31 that he wasn't pointing it at people.

Asahel Ali was 17 years old at the time of the incident. Paperwork filed by Nicole Ostrowksi, his public defender, shows they want some charges in the case dropped: second-degree recklessly endangering safety and negligent handling of a weapon.

Police said Ali pointed the gun outside Waukesha North High School in April. Three schools went into lockdown. Investigators said Ali had a pillowcase over his head and unsuccessfully tried to sneak into the school weeks earlier.

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FOX6 News obtained the motion filed late Tuesday. In it, Ostrowski argues one witness told police they saw Ali "pointing to shoot a squirrel," and another told police they saw Ali carry the weapon "horizontal down by his thigh." Ostrowski wrote the charges should be dismissed because the weapon was "never pointed in the witnesses' direction…or directly at them."

"I would ask to waive time limits on the preliminary hearing given that filing," she said.

Asahel Ali

Prosecutors also charged Ali with felony bail jumping and resisting an officer (causing soft tissue injury). Ali’s family lives behind the high school. Police said that same day, he fired a gunshot through his living room wall. A bullet was found in a neighbor’s garage.

Ostrowski said police interviewed neighbors and Ali’s siblings who were home at the time. They told police they "never heard a gunshot happen in the house."

A judge will review Ali's motion next month.