Teen pleads not guilty in highway shooting near Reptile Gardens

RAPID CITY (AP) — A man accused of shooting randomly into a vehicle traveling on U.S. Highway 16 near the Reptile Gardens tourist attraction between Rapid City and Mount Rushmore has pleaded not guilty to several charges.

Nineteen-year-old John Shaw Jr. of Box Elder is charged with discharging a firearm at a motor vehicle, three counts of aggravated assault and possession of a loaded firearm while intoxicated.

The media reports that Shaw could face more than 60 years in prison if convicted on all of the charges.

Authorities allege that Shaw fired a shot into a rental car driven by a Texas man who later discovered the bullet had gone through a passenger-side door and lodged in the car's center console. None of the three people in the vehicle was hurt.

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