L.A. sheriff’s sergeant charged with illegally firing gun

A former Los Angeles County sheriff’s sergeant was charged Tuesday with unlawfully firing his handgun in his backyard, hitting a television set and the home of his neighbor, Dist. atty announced George Gascon.

Joel Nebel, 55, who was a sergeant at the time of the July 28, 2021 shooting, faces a felony charge for grossly negligent firing of a firefighter. He is scheduled to be charged on February 7 in downtown Los Angeles, according to court documents.

Nebel was off duty when he fired multiple shots from his pistol, prosecutors said. One bullet hit his TV and another hit the neighbor’s house, but no one was injured, officials said.

The incident sparked an investigation by the Sheriff’s Department’s Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau, officials said. A few days later, he was arrested by sheriff’s investigators at his home in the Santa Clarita Valley, according to the sheriff’s arrest records.

With the investigation still pending, Nebel retired from the department in March. He has served as a supervisor in Santa Clarita for the past several years, the department said in a statement.