STOCKTON, CA - A Northeast Stockton man most likely will not win "Boyfriend of the Year" or "Neighbor of the Year."
According to Stockton police, Levon Davis, 23, used his girlfriend's photograph for target practice and the bullet ended up hitting the neighbor's house.
Davis allegedly pasted his girlfriend's photo on his backyard fence and took a shot at it. The bullet went through the fence and into the house on Pemberton Court. Neighbors said this is not the first time they have had close calls with stray bullets.
The neighbors agreed to speak on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
"I was just sitting in the backyard about a month ago and gunshots came from the back. I want to say it missed me by at least a foot," said one woman who lives nearby a shooting that happened this week.
She never did find out who fired that shot, but said gunfire is a common occurrence nowadays.
"About once or twice a week; this is one of the nicer neighborhoods," the woman said.
Another young woman said she grew up watching gang members sell drugs on street corners. She said they were the most visible presence on her streets.
"When I got to that age where you start looking up to someone, it was the dope boys on the corner with the fly jackets, cars, and the gold teeth. I actually wanted to be a gang member. I wanted to go to prison. I wanted to be that dope boy," the young woman explained.
She said she understands the appeal guns have to young people, but fears there are too many who don't know how to use and respect weapons. Davis is now in jail for negligent discharge of a firearm. He declined an interview.
The young woman said she long lost the desire to be in a gang, and today she reserves her respect for the police.
"You know it took me a long time to be able to say that, because I hated the cops for a long time. But I'd call them in a second today."
News10/KXTV