AUBURN - A 48-year-old Moravia man accused of shooting at his neighbor during an ongoing feud pleaded not guilty in Cayuga County Court Thursday to attempted murder.

Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann said Steven Seamans, of 1372 Lick St., originally told Cayuga County sheriff's deputies that he used a .22-caliber rifle with a scope to try to shoot over the vehicle of Gary L. Kirvan, 48, of 1410 Lick St., in order to scare him away.

Budelmann said he believes that Kirvan, who was parked nearly 197 feet away from Seaman's home, was using binoculars on Feb. 27 to watch Seamans' house from the street in order to get proof that Seamans had defrauded his mother.

A bullet struck Kirvan's vehicle less than a quarter of an inch under the driver's side window as he was leaning out the window to look through the binoculars, Budelmann said.

If the bullet had hit higher, it would have hit Kirvan in the middle of his chest, Budelmann said.

Deputies recovered the rifle that Seamans is accused of using to fire the shot and the bullet that struck Kirvan's vehicle, Budelmann said.

Seamans is also charged with first-degree criminal use of a firearm, first-degree attempted assault, and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, all felonies, and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor.

Budelmann said there is also a history between the men because one of them reported an incident to police that resulted in the other's arrest. Budelmann said he did not know which man called police in that incident.

Seamans was previously convicted of second-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and driving while intoxicated in 2003 and was sentenced to 1.3 to four years in prison.

Seamans was charged in April 2003 of leading police on a high-speed chase while he was drunk. He was charged with assaulting a fellow county jail inmate in August 2003.