Officer Arrested For Shots Fired At New Year's Eve Party

HOUSTON -- A Houston police officer was arrested during a New Year's Eve party, accused of firing celebratory shots that nearly hit a neighbor, KPRC Local 2 reported Tuesday.

Harris County deputies said Ricardo Pineda fired a handgun and a rifle into the air to ring in the New Year.

The shots hit a house across the street in the 8800 block of Rustling Leaves. Two bullets went through a garage door, then through a laundry room door and into an interior wall, missing the homeowner by inches, according to officials.

Pineda was charged with deadly conduct.

Shell casings found on the ground were the same caliber as Pineda's weapons, deputies said.

"When our deputy asked him if he knew anything about, Officer Pineda was unresponsive. He basically didn't say anything. Of course, our deputy asked him again and he denied knowing anything about it. The deputy got the feeling that he was not being cooperative with the investigation," said Lt. John Martin with the Harris County Sheriff's Department.

Pineda has been suspended with pay pending the outcome of the investigation.

He was released on a $30,000 bond.

Pineda has been a Houston police officer out of southeast patrol for more than three years.