Man Gets 25 Years To Life For Killing Woman Who Took Wrong Turn Into His Driveway

FORT EDWARD, N.Y. (AP) A man who fatally shot a 20-year-old woman after the SUV she was riding in mistakenly drove into his rural driveway in upstate New York was sentenced Friday to 25 years to life in prison.

Kevin Monahan, 66, was convicted of second-degree murder  in the death last April of Kaylin Gillis. She was riding in a caravan of two cars and a motorcycle that was trying to leave after pulling into Monahans long, winding driveway while looking for a party at another persons house in the town of Hebron.

I think its important for people to know that its not OK to shoot people and have them killed for turning down your driveway, Judge Adam Michelini said. Apart from the wider deterrent effect, Michelini said its important that Monahan remain behind bars rather than be free to harm more people.

The judge added up to 4 more years for tampering with the murder weapon, and scolded Monahan for showing no remorse.

You murdered Kaylin Gillis. You shot at a car full of people and you didnt care what would happen and you repeatedly lied about it. You deserve to spend the maximum time in prison allowable under the law, the judge said.

Prosecutors had asked for the maximum. The defense asked for leniency. Monahan declined an opportunity to speak. And then he was led away, to applause and a shout of coward from the gallery.

Gillis death drew attention far beyond upstate New York. It came days after the shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl  in Kansas City. Yarl, who is Black, was wounded by an 84-year-old white man after he went to the wrong door while trying to pick up his younger brothers.

On the night of Gillis death, the group of friends had realized their error and had turned around when Monahan fired a second shot, striking Gillis in the neck as she sat in the front passenger seat of an SUV driven by her boyfriend.

Monahan maintained the fatal shot  was an accident and that the shotgun was defective. He also said he believed the house about 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of Albany was under siege by intruders, and said he came out to fire a warning shot to try to scare the group away while his wife hid inside.

Prosecutors argued that Monahan was motivated by an irrational rage toward trespassers.

A jury deliberated for less then two hours before returning guilty verdicts in January against Monahan for murder, reckless endangerment and tampering with physical evidence.

Gillis father, Andrew Gillis, has described his daughter as someone who loved animals and had dreams  of becoming a marine biologist or a veterinarian.

Every day we wake up to the harsh reality that that shes no longer here. We will never see her beautiful face, hear her laughter, Gillis said in court Friday before Monahans sentence was announced.

Her boyfriend, Blake Walsh, was behind the wheel of the SUV that night. I will never be able to forgive you, he told Monahan, who looked on with a stony face.