NORWICH – A man arrested for firing his shotgun at two others during an alcohol-fueled dispute pleaded guilty to an endangerment felony in court Monday and was sentenced to one year in local jail.
Lee M. Bush, 49, of the City of Norwich, pleaded guilty to shooting at two men outside of his 29 Court St. apartment with a shotgun last September following an escalating argument that allegedly began over money and cocaine.
The two victims in the crime, Joshua Squires and Bernie J. Infante, both of Norwich, were hit as they fled Bush’s residence at around 9:30 p.m. Sept. 5, suffering pellet wounds to their legs, back and arms. None of the injuries were life threatening.
At the sentencing, defense attorney Aaron A. Dean reiterated Bush’s story that Squires and Infante were “two drug miscreants” who had “threatened my client after they assaulted his girlfriend.”
“What happened, happened,” Bush told Supreme Court Judge Kevin M. Dowd, accepting his role in the incident and apologizing to the court for his conduct. He did not, however, directly apologize for his actions against the two men – a point Dean noted in his remarks.
“There were a lot of circumstances involved that the average person isn’t aware of on the street. Basically there were some legitimate issues of justification,” said Dean, referring to the reasons his client fired.
Dean also noted one of the men didn’t seek medical attention following the incident.
“Mr. Bush maintains his position that he shot in the direction of the two men, and not at them. It is basically our position that the direct fire ricocheted off the driveway and then struck the men,” said Dean.
First Assistant District Attorney Stephen Dunshee said he requested that the judge consider sending Bush to state prison over the charges.
Bush pleaded guilty to first degree reckless endangerment, a D class felony carrying a possible sentence of two and a third to seven years in state prison.
Dowd sentenced Bush to one year in local jail with time already served, saying it was an agreed upon disposition between the DA and the defense. Bush, who has been incarcerated at the Chenango County Correctional Facility since the incident, was released on good behavior by the Sheriff’s Office, having served eight months of the one year sentence.
Both victims in the case have since been arrested on different crimes and sent to jail themselves.
Squires is currently serving out a one-year sentence in the local jail for petit larceny “after stealing and selling the property of his grandmother in order to feed his drug addiction,” explained Dunshee, who also handled that case.
Infante drew headlines in February of 2008 after robbing the Valero gas station in the Town of Norwich and stealing an 18-pack of beer. Police said Infante claimed he had a gun and threatened to shoot the clerk. However, Infante pleaded guilty to third degree robbery and it was never conclusively shown he ever actually had a weapon during the robbery. Part of his sentence was placing him on probation. Infante later pleaded guilty to violating that probation after he was convicted of driving while ability impaired, reported the Chenango County Court Clerk’s Office.
According to Bush, he and Squires had been drinking at Bush’s residence in the hours leading up to the incident and then went inside the apartment to use cocaine. While inside the apartment, Bush’s girlfriend, who police said did not support the drug habit, became infuriated after she saw Squires pull a bag of cocaine from his pocket.
Police said an argument ensued in which Squires left the residence after throwing an object at the woman, hitting her in the face.
The argument then intensified between Squires and Bush, and escalated with Squires demanding that Bush pay him money owed to him. Dean told the court that Bush denied he owed Squires any money.
Then, according to Bush’s statement, Squires left the residence but then returned a short time later with Infante, who also demanded that Bush pay him back some money, threatening him physically. Bush then retrieved his shotgun from inside the apartment.
Bush said he fired two shots – one to warn the men and the second in their direction to “scare them.” He later told police he didn’t mean to hit the two men, but was glad he did.
Bush was originally charged with two counts of second degree assault, first degree reckless endangerment and third degree criminal possession of a weapon.
Part of Bush’s sentence required him to pay $375 in fees and the court issued an order of protection for the victims, active until 2017.
“A year of this defendant’s life has already been taken away and I hope Mr. Bush understands that this is a felony level offense and if he commits another serious crime in the next 10 years, he will go to prison,” Dunshee said.