What not to do.

This story has been in the local headlines since day one.

Homeowner is a rural area, has a long driveway, that apparently gets a lot of mistaken turns. This time a group of young people on the way to a party, turned in, drove part way up and realized they were in the wrong place. They were in two vehicles and a motorcycle, no one got out, they just turned to go and the homeowner fired from the deck in front of his house.

Fired two shots from his 12 gauge shotgun, loaded with slugs. One hit the victim, a passenger in one of the vehicles, an SUV, entering through the left of the tailgate window and struck the front seat passenger in the neck.

Jury delivers verdict in trial of Kevin Monahan

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Tony

It’s pretty stupid to shoot another person when you don’t have to.

It's also a sad story when a hunter shoots into the bushes when he heard a sound, only to find out it wasn't a deer, but his buddy George.

In any event, I truly feel sorry for the shooter as well. It's the society we live in. Nobody feels safe any more. Crime is everywhere.

I don't feel bad for the shooter at all. This is a man that decided he was going to protect the sovereignty of his driveway with lethal force. He wasn't in danger and nobody else was until he fired a 12 GA slug at a retreating vehicle. He deserves to go to jail.

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The best I can with what I got

And he will, he's looking at 25 + years.

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Tony

2nd degree murder seems to be an over charge. 3rd degree manslaughter seems more appropriate. But I don’t know NY law.

From his defense lawyer: "The gun will fire if you don’t pull the trigger”.

His argument was that Monahan didn't kill the victim but the gun did.

No sympathy here.

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

It's a horrible tragedy.

But it's eerily familiar with a scenario described by a very influential and powerful man.

He advised, "We live in an area that's wooded and secluded. If there's ever a problem, just walk out on the balcony here...put that double barreled shotgun and fire two blasts."

That is terrible advice and the home owner was foolish to follow it.

But he got it from a very high placed "authority".

John

Respectfully, “not feeling safe” is the too-often-cited excuse of both the pro-gun and anti-gun crowds. The vast majority of these fears are largely baseless.

Any time we go for a drive the odds that someone will pass within 10 feet of us at a combined speed of over 100 MPH while texting his girlfriend or watching a TikTok video are very high…yet we don’t feel threatened when we get behind the wheel.

Fear is, for the most part, a matter of choice.

Nothing like a ton or two of steel between you and the other vehicle, and being able to drive to safety.

No comparison between anyone in a vehicle and feeling threatened in their home.

Not that I think the shooter is justified. Based on the facts presented, I think 3rd degree homicide is warranted.

According to USA Today Monahan said the second, fatal shot was unintentional.

He said he tripped over nails sticking up from the deck, lost his balance and the shotgun struck the deck. That, he said, accidentally caused his gun to fire at the Ford Explorer carrying Gillis.

"I didn't mean to shoot the second shot," Monahan testified last week. "The gun went off."

Monahan is 66 years old. Because of his irrational fear it is likely he will die behind bars.

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

Do not feel sorry for the shooter. Had no business shooting at a vehicle, especially when the occupants had done nothing to warrant the use of deadly force. Probably should not have owned a gun to begin with. I feel bad for the young lady that was killed. Also feel bad for all the law abiding gun owners that the shooter has given fuel for the fire against us to the folks that want to take our firearms and the media that feeds on this sort of thing.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

He pulled a a shot gun and fired at the young adults with the intent to kill. Then he lied about it. Not sure on what alternative universe that would be a manslaughter or 3rd degree murder charge. That's a stretch. The jury got it right, and the criminal got what he deserved. Going down a driveway is NOT an excuse to intentionally murder someone.

I did not pull the trigger……. Where have we heard that before. Seems to be a common defense/excuse.

He grabbed the shotgun, went outside, aimed it pretty accurately at the young men and women, and then the shotgun magically fired twice by itself. Then when law enforcement first asked him what happened, he pretend to not have a clue about what they were referring to. The latter was on body camera for the jury to see. Seems that he believes everyone else are complete idiots.

I think the conviction was correct. This is just the type of gun owner nobody needs. Meanwhile, a young lady lost her life for no good reason.

Ah, the Eric Baldwin defense! Tragic!

I think you meant Alec Baldwin 🙂

Yes I did mean Alec. Brain not in gear.

Yeah, I know how that is.😎

You don't want people turning in to your driveway, coming to the door, etc.? Put up a good fence and gate. You can get a gate that can be opened remotely from the car or house; we had one like that on the house we sold when my wife retired.

Is that a moderately expensive pain in the gluteals? Yes. Is it better and cheaper than this sort of outcome? By a factor of several zillion. Our home is set up to make it unpleasant to disturb, annoy, or present a threat. I don't worry about shooting the drunk neighbor or any of the other unfortunate outcomes - fencing and big dogs really cut that risk, and make it highly likely that anyone who got to a place where they appear to need shooting has made a conscious decision to be there in spite of all the discouragement. Choices have consequences.

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NHI, 10-8.

Yes DOUG, big dog and good lighting. Also a dog that is outside a lot and is seen by others.

I don't condone what the shooter did, and he is being punished for it, as he should be. Regardless, I still feel sorry for him as well. It was a tragedy all around.

Another point is that we really don't know the whole truth. Was the old guy a victim of recent robberies? Was he being harassed by some people? I dunno.

I recall a similar case, not sure when it happened. Someone knocked on a door by mistake and was greeted with gunfire. Not a drug lab, just a paranoid homeowner.

Just yesterday I had a coworker tell me that it was legal to shoot someone in your yard. I didn't try to explain anything to him because he thinks that he knows everything about everything.

"Shoot first and ask questions later!" "Better to be judged by 12 than carried by six!" Well he shot first and the Twelve judged him!!!

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

It's only the Alec Baldwin defense if his wife told him the shotgun wasn't loaded and it fired by magic.

No matter what - YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID!

So many have not” seen the elephant” and results, watch to much tv, movies and garbage online. Having lived way out in the country with a 1/4 mile long driveway know all about what can happen. People lost, cause most “ mistakes” and surely not cause for shooting at them. Now idiots spotlighting for deer and shooting the transformer of your house with a high power rifle is a complete different situation. IMHO spotlighters should get what happens to them. In Va. game wardens used to have More authority than Police, no warrant needed, seize guns, vehicle and everything inside and offenders is going to no tell motel.

Some places have "Stand Your Ground" laws. The fine print is that you have to have a reasonable expectation that your life is in danger. Seems to me that these types of laws need better clarification. Without it, there will always be some who say stupid things.

Even before "Stan Your Ground" laws, some folks would say, "If you shoot 'em outside, drag 'em inside. Then it's legal!"

If something can be misunderstood, many will misunderstand it.

John

This story is local to me. I live about 30 miles away. I have been following it since day 1. It was senseless. Absolutely no reason to fire. A 20 year old girl didn't go home that day because the person driving took a wrong turn. I feel the conviction was correct.

Another tragic aspect was that there was virtually no cell service in that area, hence her companions could not get medical aid quickly. Don't know if it would have changed the outcome, but I can't imagine bring unable to call for assistance in a situation like that.

I believe a locked gate at the entry to the property could have prevented this murder. It works for me.

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"Don't Give Up the Ship"

When I was still on the job, occasionally a citizen would ask me if that was okay. I”d reply that “They have a term for people that do that, they’re called “inmates”.

Do you really think you’re so smart you can fool our Detectives, Crime Scene Investigators, Forensic Scientists, Medical Examiners, Deputy Prosecutors, et al? None of us are that smart.

I’ll say it again, it’s pretty stupid to shoot another person when you don’t have to.

This guy was convicted on three charges:

2nd Degree Murder
Reckless Endangerment
Tampering with Physical Evidence.

He barricaded himself in the house for a period of time, picked up the spent shells, cleaned the gun. Then called his attorney, before he opened up to the PD.

Also, his wife testified that he previously "shot varmints and vehicles".
They had a long standing issue with people mistakenly turning into the driveway which was extremely long and out of sight of the house.

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Tony

I think we have all run into people who are prone to irrational fear leading to panic. Especially in our LE contacts where we do run into the full range of mental and emotional states. Don't know whether this applies to the defendant in this case, but it is worth considering if he was. Not that it now makes any difference. Once he had fired that shotgun he had sealed his fate.

When I taught my CCW classes I discussed this issue. I would tell the class that you each know yourself. If you are this type of person, you should not apply for a CCW nor should you even possess a firearm.

I strongly support the 2A. That is why I taught the CCW classes. But like it or not, there are persons who are just not emotionally stable enough to have firearms.

Throw a bit of perceived stress at such people and it can lead to disaster.

even a gate without a lock on it would most likely have prevented this.

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Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

There are legal and tactical advantages to a lock.

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NHI, 10-8.

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Life is precious
What is wrong with people

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Buy American
Vote Responsibly

If I shot everyone who used my driveway by mistake I wouldn't need as much target practice.

While I support the guys right to be armed and even walk out on his porch armed, firing it especially while it was pointed in the general direction of people still inside their vehicle is way beyond the pale. Even the tripped on the nail story don't hold much water. Court got it right.

I just wish the system would also get more of the serious bad guy cases right and keep those guys behind bars forever

He got sentenced on Friday. The judge gave him the maximum (25 years to life) plus another 4¾ years for tampering with evidence.

Kevin Monahan sentenced to 25 years to life for the murder of Kaylin Gillis | WAMC

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Pack light and cinch tight.

As I know that area well I have followed this case right from the beginning.

His attorney has already said that he is going to appeal (Guess Monahan still has a few dollars left) He also said they he disagreed with just about every thing the judge said or did.

So in plain English this is not completely over yet!

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14 S&W Revs none with locks!

He has little to lose by appealing except money, but the odds of him getting any appellate relief are small. Among other things, judicial rulings on the admissibility of evidence are generally reviewed under an abuse of discretion standard.

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NHI, 10-8.

I haven't been following this and I don't know WA law. That said, it seems hard to make a case for self defense if the alleged threat was retreating after not making any threats or taking any threatening action.

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Can open, worms everywhere.

I haven't been following this and I don't know WA law. That said, it seems hard to make a case for self defense if the alleged threat was retreating after not making any threats or taking any threatening action.

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Can open, worms everywhere.

Prison is teaching him the true meaning of fear.

Gary: This did not occur in WA, although I suspect he would be just as screwed here. It was Washington COUNTY New York. It is in the NE part of NYS, up against Vermont.

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NHI, 10-8.

while I don't have much sympathy for the guy, there are some truly cold blooded killers and child molesters that got less.The guy is a idiot, but just how much worse is he than drunk who gets behind the wheel of a car and kills innocent people? Even those with multiple DUIs and end up wiping out several people seldom get that anywhere near that much time.

The young lady was so beautiful.

Tragic.

While I do not condone drunk driving, it could be said is an accident when it happens. This fool shot at the car deliberately. In my mind they should all go to jail forever. Same as the drunk young woman who killed the bride on her wedding night in S.C. Can't believe they are letting her out on "House Arrest".

Blocked

Jamie Lee Komoroski released from Charleston County jail | News | postandcourier.com

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.