Man guilty of owning gun his girlfriend used to commit suicide
NORWICH – A Smithville man charged with illegally possessing a hand gun used in his girlfriend’s suicide was found guilty by a jury of his peers last week.
John Hadac, 44, Smithville, was found guilty Tuesday of the top and only count against him by a jury, and convicted of third degree criminal possession of a weapon.
“This is a very tragic sequence of events that should have been avoided and might have spared a distressed woman’s life,” said District Attorney Joseph McBride.
Chenango County Sheriff’s Office investigators testified in court that the defendant admitted to keeping the illegal gun in the house, unsecured and loaded. Just before the death occurred, the defendant was using alcohol when his girlfriend, allegedly distressed by the state of their relationship, took the firearm and killed herself. The incident took place in late January and police arrested Hadac on Feb. 13.
Hadac called 911, and police responded to the scene. They discovered the weapon that Hadac had purchased legally in Virginia over a decade earlier. “The laws in other states aren’t the laws in New York, and in New York, you need a permit,” said McBride.
The defense maintained that at the time of the incident, the defendant was not in possession of the weapon. The prosecution called two witnesses, Lt. James E. Lloyd and Sgt. Detective Richard Cobb, to verify facts at the scene and to testify to Hadac’s admissions of ownership during his interview.
The jury deliberated for 37 minutes before returning with a verdict of guilty. Chenango County Court Judge Howard Sullivan released Hadac on his own recognizance and scheduled sentencing in 30 days, pending the completion of a pre-sentencing investigation report. Hadac could face local jail time and probation, one to three years in prison, or up to two and a half to seven years in prison.
John Hadac, 44, Smithville, was found guilty Tuesday of the top and only count against him by a jury, and convicted of third degree criminal possession of a weapon.
“This is a very tragic sequence of events that should have been avoided and might have spared a distressed woman’s life,” said District Attorney Joseph McBride.
Chenango County Sheriff’s Office investigators testified in court that the defendant admitted to keeping the illegal gun in the house, unsecured and loaded. Just before the death occurred, the defendant was using alcohol when his girlfriend, allegedly distressed by the state of their relationship, took the firearm and killed herself. The incident took place in late January and police arrested Hadac on Feb. 13.
Hadac called 911, and police responded to the scene. They discovered the weapon that Hadac had purchased legally in Virginia over a decade earlier. “The laws in other states aren’t the laws in New York, and in New York, you need a permit,” said McBride.
The defense maintained that at the time of the incident, the defendant was not in possession of the weapon. The prosecution called two witnesses, Lt. James E. Lloyd and Sgt. Detective Richard Cobb, to verify facts at the scene and to testify to Hadac’s admissions of ownership during his interview.
The jury deliberated for 37 minutes before returning with a verdict of guilty. Chenango County Court Judge Howard Sullivan released Hadac on his own recognizance and scheduled sentencing in 30 days, pending the completion of a pre-sentencing investigation report. Hadac could face local jail time and probation, one to three years in prison, or up to two and a half to seven years in prison.
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