Rochester Hills man who shot at lost teen had previous gun charge

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (WJBK) - Jeff Zeigler faced a judge Friday for trying to shoot an unarmed 14-year-old boy. 

It is not the first time he got into trouble with a gun. Warren police arrested Zeigler for shooting at a car in a road rage incident on I-696. It happened in 2004. 

Zeigler faced an aggravated felonious assault charge, but plead guilty to a misdemeanor. He got one year of probation plus fines and court costs.

MORE: Black teen misses bus, gets shot at after asking for directions in Rochester Hills

"I am kind of happy I didn't become a statistic," said Brennan Walker

Zeigler is accused of chasing after and opening fire on 14-year-old Brennan Walker with a twelve-gauge shotgun.

The teen says he missed the bus to Rochester High School and tried to walk the bus route and got lost. He knocked on Zeigler's door in hopes of getting directions to school. 

Zeigler's wife assumed he was a burglar.

"I was in bed yesterday morning when my wife started screaming and crying," he said in court Friday.

"The guy came downstairs," Walker said. "Then he grabbed the gun and I saw it. I started to run, and then that's when I heard the gunshot."

"It was crazy you see my son put his hands up and back up defensively," said Lisa Wright, his mother. "And then you see him take off running."

Zeigler's surveillance camera recorded that near deadly encounter.

Neighbors Brian and Julie Lawrence are still wrapping their heads around what happened next door.

"I can't believe it, it is disconcerting," said Julie. "With everything that has been going on. We've only been here a couple months. And all the incidents we hear happening are our next door neighbor."

The Oakland County Sheriff's Office responded to a family trouble call at the Zeigler home in February. No action was taken, but there was a strong police presence.

"When all of the Oakland County Sheriffs (came), I mean it was just peppered with sheriff cars," Julie said.

The sheriff's office also confirmed there were two reported break-ins at the Zeigler home in 2009.

Neither Brennan or his mother Lisa Wright were available for interviews Friday, but people who live in the subdivision where Brennan was nearly killed has a message for his family.

"I want them to know this neighborhood is not filled with people like that," Julie said. "And if he would have gone to probably any other house in the neighborhood, we would have taken the kid to school."

Zeigler is no longer being held by the Oakland County Jail, he posted a $50,000 bond. One of his bond conditions is that he cannot be within 10 miles of Brennan Walker. That mean he cannot go back home until the case is closed.