ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) —

A now-18-year-old Asheville man will spend more than nine years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to charges of shooting a gun into three occupied homes just north of Woodfin in 2023, injuring one man.

In Buncombe County Superior Court on Tuesday, Derek Matt Espinoza-Rangel, 18, of Asheville, pleaded guilty to three counts of discharging a weapon into an occupied dwelling, and one count of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, the Buncombe County District Attorney’s Office reported in a release.

Superior Court Judge Steve Warren sentenced him to serve three consecutive felony sentences totaling between 111 months and 158 months in prison, plus two years of supervised probation. He also was ordered to pay restitution of nearly $20,000 for property damage and ordered not to have any contact with witnesses.

The case dates back to Feb. 3, 2023, when Espinoza-Rangel was just a few months shy of his 18th birthday.

According to the D.A.’s office, Buncombe County Sheriff’s deputies responded to Black Locust Drive off Old Marshall Highway, just north of Woodfin, where they found three homes and multiple vehicles that had been struck by gunfire.

At one of the homes, they found a victim who said he was preparing for bed when his home was struck by gunfire, the release said. The man was hit in the neck, the rib cage and flank and was treated for three weeks at Mission Hospital before being released.

In the area of the shootings, deputies reportedly found more than 50 shell casings from a .223 caliber AR-15. A weapon of that type later was found at Espinoza-Rangel’s home, along with .223-and 9mm ammunition, the release states.

Because he had not yet turned age 18, Espinoza-Rangel initially was charged as a juvenile, but a Buncombe County Grand Jury later indicted him and he was prosecuted in Superior Court as an adult.

Assistant District Attorney Katie Kurdys, who prosecuted the case, said in a release: “This case serves as a staggering reminder of the importance of securing firearms and the elevated dangers presented when guns are left unsecured and accessible by minors.”

The case was resolved in the same week Asheville Police are investigating three cases of gunshots being fired into occupied buildings.

BULLETS ENTER CHILD’S BEDROOM IN LATEST SHOOTING INTO HOME

The Asheville cases include:

  • About 11:39 p.m. on May 23, an occupied residence in the 950 block of W. Chapel Road was struck by gunfire and 23 shell casings from different caliber guns were found.
  • About 12:43 a.m. on May 25, two homes and two vehicles in the 300 block of Brooklyn Road were struck by gunfire and 46 shell casings were found.
  • About 1:04 a.m. on May 26, the occupied residence on Hibernia Street was struck and 17 shell casings were found.

No suspects have been identified in the Asheville cases, which remain under investigation.