STEVENS POINT, WI (WSAU) — A Plover teen accused of shooting his friends and attacking his mother after a night of drinking and drugs has reached a plea deal to dismiss seven of the ten counts against him.
Alec Varney pled no contest Friday morning to felony counts of 1st Degree Reckless Injury, 2nd-Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety, and a misdemeanor count of Battery. in exchange for the plea, other counts including False Imprisonment, Dangerous Use of a Weapon, and 1st-Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety have been dismissed.
A judge then found Varney guilty of the three counts and set a sentencing date for January 4th, 2019. A presentence investigation will be completed by December 28th.
The charges stem from an April 26th incident at Varney’s home in Plover. According to his friends, the 19-year-old started pacing the room during the early-morning hours and began making statements accusing his friends of wanting to harm his family. He then took out a gun and pointed it at his friends and fired once, injuring both of them.
The gunshot woke his parents, who came downstairs to check on the situation. That’s when Varney took out a knife and stabbed his mother before tackling his father and fleeing the scene. That prompted a county-wide manhunt which ended several hours later when Varney was found in what was described as a high-risk traffic stop.
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The incident prompted a soft lockdown at all Stevens Point Area schools until Varney was taken into custody.
Varney has been held in the Portage County jail on $1 million bond, which was revoked during Friday’s hearing.
