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The Associated Press State & Local Wire
February 4, 2003, Tuesday, BC cycle
SECTION: State and Regional
LENGTH: 452 words
HEADLINE: Stray-bullet killer convicted of Yonkers manslaughter
BYLINE: By JIM FITZGERALD, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE: WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.
BODY:
A man who killed a 2-year-old girl with a stray bullet from a high-powered rifle - as she watched a Winnie the Pooh cartoon with her parents - was convicted Tuesday of second-degree manslaughter.
Kashawn Jones, 23, was acquitted of second-degree murder, which could have sent him to prison for 25 years to life. Instead, he will face a term of up to 15 years for killing Amy Guzman on Jan. 7, 2002. The girl was mortally injured when Jones fired his new rifle from a third-floor window a block away in Yonkers. The bullet went through a metal sign, the wall of Amy's house and the mirrored headboard on her parents' bed before hitting her in the head.
As the verdict was read, Jones slumped a bit, then sat down. Defense attorney Allan Focarile put an arm around him. In the gallery, Amy's parents scowled, unhappy that the Westchester County Court jury had not convicted Jones of murder.
Prosecutor Perry Perrone said Jones was using the sign for target practice, recklessly disregarding the risk of death and the busy street below, showing a "depraved indifference to human life."
But Jones testified he had been planning to kill himself, then changed his mind and was trying to get the bullet out of the rifle when it discharged.
He said that when he heard the little girl had been killed, "I was like in shock. ... I just started crying."
Jones' mother, Sandra Wilkinson, said outside court, "I thank God that my son won't have to spend his life in prison."
But Amy's father, Julio Guzman, wearing a photo of Amy as a lapel pin, said, "The system is ridiculous. They protect the bad people. Murder is what he deserved." Earlier, he rejected an apology Jones delivered from the witness stand.
Besides the manslaughter charge, Jones was convicted of reckless endangerment, assault and criminal possession of a weapon. The assault charge related to Amy's mother, Alba Guzman, who was grazed by the bullet that killed her daughter. The gun charge was for an illegal handgun found by police; the rifle was legal.
Acting state Supreme Court Justice Richard Molea scheduled sentencing for April 24. Jones is already serving a 4-to-12-year prison term for selling drugs.
During the trial, Julio Guzman testified about the moment the bullet crashed into his house as he and his wife, just home from work, lolled on their bed with their youngest child.
"She had her stuffed Winnie the Pooh in her hands," he said. "We heard an explosion like a bomb. ... We realized immediately that the baby was injured."
He carried his daughter to the street, and police sped her to a hospital, but she was declared dead within hours.
Jones was captured in Troy, N.Y., two days after the shooting.
February 4, 2003, Tuesday, BC cycle
SECTION: State and Regional
LENGTH: 452 words
HEADLINE: Stray-bullet killer convicted of Yonkers manslaughter
BYLINE: By JIM FITZGERALD, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE: WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.
BODY:
A man who killed a 2-year-old girl with a stray bullet from a high-powered rifle - as she watched a Winnie the Pooh cartoon with her parents - was convicted Tuesday of second-degree manslaughter.
Kashawn Jones, 23, was acquitted of second-degree murder, which could have sent him to prison for 25 years to life. Instead, he will face a term of up to 15 years for killing Amy Guzman on Jan. 7, 2002. The girl was mortally injured when Jones fired his new rifle from a third-floor window a block away in Yonkers. The bullet went through a metal sign, the wall of Amy's house and the mirrored headboard on her parents' bed before hitting her in the head.
As the verdict was read, Jones slumped a bit, then sat down. Defense attorney Allan Focarile put an arm around him. In the gallery, Amy's parents scowled, unhappy that the Westchester County Court jury had not convicted Jones of murder.
Prosecutor Perry Perrone said Jones was using the sign for target practice, recklessly disregarding the risk of death and the busy street below, showing a "depraved indifference to human life."
But Jones testified he had been planning to kill himself, then changed his mind and was trying to get the bullet out of the rifle when it discharged.
He said that when he heard the little girl had been killed, "I was like in shock. ... I just started crying."
Jones' mother, Sandra Wilkinson, said outside court, "I thank God that my son won't have to spend his life in prison."
But Amy's father, Julio Guzman, wearing a photo of Amy as a lapel pin, said, "The system is ridiculous. They protect the bad people. Murder is what he deserved." Earlier, he rejected an apology Jones delivered from the witness stand.
Besides the manslaughter charge, Jones was convicted of reckless endangerment, assault and criminal possession of a weapon. The assault charge related to Amy's mother, Alba Guzman, who was grazed by the bullet that killed her daughter. The gun charge was for an illegal handgun found by police; the rifle was legal.
Acting state Supreme Court Justice Richard Molea scheduled sentencing for April 24. Jones is already serving a 4-to-12-year prison term for selling drugs.
During the trial, Julio Guzman testified about the moment the bullet crashed into his house as he and his wife, just home from work, lolled on their bed with their youngest child.
"She had her stuffed Winnie the Pooh in her hands," he said. "We heard an explosion like a bomb. ... We realized immediately that the baby was injured."
He carried his daughter to the street, and police sped her to a hospital, but she was declared dead within hours.
Jones was captured in Troy, N.Y., two days after the shooting.
