2 men plead guilty to shooting at cars

BROCKTON - Two Plymouth men have been sentenced to probation and community service after pleading guilty to using a pellet gun to shoot at cars on Route 3.

The Cape Cod Times reports that 20-year-old Shawn Ackerman and 18-year-old John Duarte II each received three years of probation and 300 hours of community service after admitting to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon at a hearing Tuesday in Brockton Superior Court.

Police say that over several days in March of last year they hit at least nine cars traveling along Route 3 near the Plymouth-Kingston line during the evening commute. No one was hurt, but in one case, authorities say shattered glass showered a 5-year-old child.

Their lawyers had previously said they had never been in trouble before.