Global Courant 2023-04-20 03:24:07
FORT EDWARD, NY — The homeowner charged with fatally shooting a 20-year-old woman when an SUV she was driving drove into the wrong driveway was described in court Wednesday as a man with a reputation for being “hot-tempered.”
Kevin Monahan wore a coat, shirt and handcuffs and sat next to his lawyer in a Washington County courtroom as prosecutors claimed he posed a flight risk. Monahan is charged with manslaughter in the shooting of Kaylin Gillis and, if convicted, faces a minimum of 15 years to life and a maximum of 25 years to life in prison. He has pleaded not guilty.
Authorities have said Monahan, 65, shot at a Ford Explorer from his porch Saturday after a group of four friends realized they had turned into the wrong driveway and left his home in Hebron, about 50 miles north of Albany.
One of the two shots hit Gillis, a aspiring marine biologist who was pronounced dead miles away after the group called 911.
Chief Assistant District Attorney Christian Morris said Wednesday that Monahan is “confrontational and short-tempered,” which would lend itself to impulsiveness.
Morris also revealed that Monahan had recently “caused a scene” at a State Department of Motor Vehicles office, claiming he was upset about having to show up in person. Prosecutors asked the judge to place bail between $250,000 cash and $1 million partially secured bond.
Monahan’s attorney Kurt Mausert accused prosecutors of spreading innuendo, saying an alleged explosion at the DMV should not be included in bail because “the whole state would be locked up.”
“Everyone in the state has a bad experience at the DMV — that’s ridiculous,” he said.
He asked Judge Adam Michelini to impose bail between $10,000 cash and $50,000 partially secured bond, saying the purpose of bail is to ensure a defendant’s participation in criminal proceedings and not to impose unnecessary hardship.
Michelini ordered that Monahan be returned without bail. He said the only considerations were Monahan’s alleged use of a firearm and the fact that Gillis was killed.
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“I don’t think there’s more serious damage than that,” he said.
Michelini’s statement led to fist pumping and pats on the back from Gillis’ family and friends.
However, Wednesday’s hearing shed no light on why the suspect would have opened fire on the SUV.
A neighbor told me The associated press that in recent years Monahan had become increasingly upset by people taking the wrong turn in his driveway.
In a exclusive interview with NBC News on Tuesday night, Blake Walsh said he and three passengers – two friends and Gillis, his girlfriend – were looking to party when two shots were fired in their direction.
“We thought we were in the right place,” he said. “We didn’t have cell service to sort it out. As soon as we found out we were in the wrong location, we started to leave, and that’s when everything happened.
Walsh, 19, of Cambridge, New York, said what happened next was a blur.
Blake Walsh and Kaylin Gillis. (Courtesy of Blake Walsh)
“My friend said, ‘They’re shooting – go!’ I tried to step on the accelerator as quickly as possible, and then the fatal shot came through,” he said.
Walsh, who attended Monahan’s hearing, declined to comment to reporters before and after the proceedings.
While Mausert has declined to discuss details of the shooting, he told NBC News ahead of Wednesday’s hearing that “there were mistakes made by the drivers of the vehicles, mistakes made by my client,” adding, “I can’t go there anymore.” expand on it until I conduct my own investigation, which I’m working on, and until I receive traceable material from the district attorney’s office.
He said that Monahan had no malicious intent and that the human tendency is to harm someone when there is a tragedy.
“If the situation involves a mistake rather than bad intentions, then there really isn’t a bad guy,” said Mausert. “I believe this was sort of a perfect storm of mistakes and confluence of events that resulted in tragedy without necessarily being malicious.”
Washington County District Attorney Tony Jordan said at a press conference after the hearing that prosecutors are considering other charges against Monahan. One possible charge mentioned in court on Wednesday was attempted first-degree sexual assault. Jordan, while emphasizing that Monahan is presumed innocent, said, “My office will do everything in its power to ensure that justice is served for Kaylin Gillis.”
He said the evidence will determine any new charges and noted that more than 40 law enforcement officers responded and worked to collect evidence after the shooting.
“We follow the facts wherever they lead us,” Jordan said.
Gillis’ father, Andrew Gillis, also spoke to reporters after the hearing. He said he was thankful that he had to “tell her I love her before she walked out the door.”
He said he is “angry” that his daughter is dead, but that Monahan being held without bail was the “best possible outcome” so early in the criminal case.
“It gives a little comfort,” he said. “I think everyone in the courtroom breathed a sigh of relief when they heard that.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
