SHERBURNE – A man accused of killing his friend with a shotgun over the weekend will have his case heard by a Chenango grand jury. At a hearing in the Village of Sherburne Court Thursday night, police officers relayed how the defendant had confessed to the crime.
Joshua T. Story, 23, of 33 Classic St., appeared in court charged with the shooting death of Kallin P. Richards, 24, of New Berlin, on Saturday.
Assistant District Attorney Stephen Dunshee called three members of the Sheriff’s Department to the stand – Lt. James E. Lloyd, Detective Sergeant Richard M. Cobb and the crime scene technician, Deputy Gerald Perry. They testified that the state had reasonable cause to believe Story killed Richards. Public Defender James Cameron called no witnesses. Village Justice Jim Peptis ruled in favor of the case being handed up to a grand jury.
“Reasonable cause. The testimony given clearly shows a felony was committed and I believe he was indeed the one to kill Mr. Richards,” said Peptis.
The first witness called at last night’s proceeding was Cobb. “There was a witness who gave us the defendant’s name and saw the incident,” said Cobb.
“Ten minutes after I arrived, we went to Joshua Story’s apartment, number 105. The defendant’s girlfriend let us in and we found the defendant in his bedroom,” said Cobb.
Lloyd later testified, “We found the defendant sleeping.” Police arrested Story and discovered a shotgun in his closet in the bedroom. “We didn’t take it then, though. We took the defendant and then waited for a search warrant,” Lloyd said.
Story was read his Miranda rights and taken to a patrol car by Cobb, where he asked the detective for a cigarette and before asking about Richards’ condition, the detective testified.
Cameron asked Cobb, “When you told him of the condition of Kallin, what was his reaction? Was he upset?” Cobb said yes.
“I asked if he understood his rights and if he wanted to speak to me. He responded he did. He told me he couldn’t remember much and said his memory was ‘sketchy.’ He stated they had a fight, that Kallin choked him out and that he couldn’t remember what happened,” said Cobb.
Lloyd and Cobb then drove Story to the Sheriff’s Office and continued the interview in the unmarked patrol car, with Cobb taking notes from the passenger seat.
“We were in the car. I remember he said he got the gun to scare him, to scare Richards. That he didn’t mean to hit him and the gun went off by accident. At about that point, he started saying things like, ‘oh God, please lord, please forgive me,’” said Cobb.
Lloyd also confirmed he heard the same statements made by Story.
Perry, who helped secure the body and transport it to Binghamton, testified to the preliminary autopsy report claiming the death was a result of a “gun shot wound to the chest,” he stated.
The shooting occurred early Saturday morning at Sherburne Meadows Apartments as Richards attempted to drive away in his 2000 Ford Explorer.
The deadly dispute between the two men may have originated over Story questioning whether Richards was sober enough to drive home, said police.
“It was part of it. There were certainly other things. These two men obviously knew each other, and their confrontation was emotional as much as it was anything else and they lost their temper. It’s a thing we’ve seen before; it’s drinking and a gun being too accessible. If there was no gun available that night, then this call would have most likely been the routine weekend fight,” said Lloyd.
The crime took place just after 2:30 a.m. in the parking lot outside of Story’s apartment complex.
The victim and defendant were friends, according to the victim’s family. The two men also worked together at Baillie Lumber in Smyrna for the past six months.
Story was remanded to the Chenango County Correctional Facility, ineligible for bail until he appears in a superior court. He will now be held for grand jury indictment and will appear in Chenango County Court at a later date.