NORWICH – The Chenango County Courthouse was a scene of repentance Tuesday as a Sherburne man pleaded guilty in the shooting death of his friend and asked the family for forgiveness.
Joshua T. Story, 24, was arrested Feb. 23 for the second degree murder of Kallin P. Richards, 24, of New Berlin.
Supreme Court Judge Kevin M. Dowd sentenced Story to 15 years in prison for pleading guilty to first degree manslaughter Tuesday.
Richards was shot and killed by Story at around 2:30 a.m. Feb. 23 at Sherburne Meadows Apartments as he attempted to drive away in his 2000 Ford Explorer.
The two men were involved in a physical fight just prior to the shooting in which Richards choked Story to near unconsciousness. The fight began when Story, who was also drinking, believed Richards had too much to drink and shouldn’t drive.
“On this particular night, Mr. Story thought Mr. Richards had consumed too much alcohol and thought he was doing the right thing by preventing him from driving. Unfortunately, Judge, that led to an altercation that Mr. Story lost,” said District Attorney Joseph McBride.
Story recovered soon after and as Richards was attempting to leave the scene, Story retrieved a loaded shotgun from inside his residence and shot the victim through the driver’s side window in the parking lot, killing him instantly.
“One thing led to another. And I guess I shot him,” Story admitted in court.
“The saddest thing that should be on the record that stays with Mr. Story while he’s in prison is the fact that Mr. Richards wasn’t drunk that night, that he had a .04 alcohol level and he was safe to drive,” McBride said.
McBride said he accepted the reduced murder plea to the manslaughter charge because Story confessed to the crime, was under emotional duress and was close to the victim.
“Because of that, because of the alcohol, because of his state of mind and because of the fact that he had just been beaten up by his friend, he made a terrible, terrible, mistake which he readily admitted that night and I believe he continues to admit today,” he said.
Story spoke in court, saying, “I’d just like to apologize to his family, especially to his son. And I really don’t know what to say, but I’m terribly sorry about your loss. I just hope that you all could forgive me. I mean, I know it’s hard but I’m just sorry. I don’t know what to say. I just wish I could take it back.”
Story, who has three children of his own, listened to the fiancee and mother of Richards’ child, Tanya Eccleston.
“Just to hear my two-year-old son sit there and say, ‘When is daddy coming home?’ That just ... it just kills me and I don’t know what to say to him,” said Eccleston.
Story’s Public Defender Alan E. Gordon spoke on his client’s behalf to the court.
“Just I know that in speaking with Josh, that a day has not gone by that he does not regret his actions that night. He knows he can’t undo it. He knows what’s done is done. But he certainly regrets it. He also knows apologizing, which he will, is not enough. It’s not going to bring Kallin back. It’s a tragedy,” he said.
Dowd agreed with Gordon, and addressed Story directly.
“Your comments today tend to be a lot different than most of the people we see. I think you do have genuine remorse for this. Most of the criminals we deal with, their remorse is basically they got caught. So I do believe you. You come across to me as a pretty decent fellow who made a rather tragic mistake that you’re going to pay for now. But you did step up to the plate, and for that you have to be given some kind of credit,” said Dowd.
In closing the judge said, “One of the things that distinguishes the people who end up going to jail and don’t go to jail is the impulse control, the inability to see five minutes later on in their life. That split second changed your life forever and destroyed these people’s lives forever. Just think about that.”