Latest news with #JohnReillyIII
Washington Post
7 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
Town official claims self-defense in shooting of DoorDash driver in New York
An upstate New York town official accused of shooting and wounding a food delivery person says he was protecting his family and has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and other charges. Ring doorbell camera footage shows John Reilly III, the highway superintendent in Chester, a town nearly 60 miles (96 kilometers) north of Manhattan, shooting at the DoorDash driver's car on May 2 as the person was trying to leave Reilly's property. Prosecutors allege the shooting was unprovoked, saying the driver was lost and his cellphone battery was dead, as he only tried to see if Reilly had ordered the food he was trying to deliver.
The Guardian
7 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Lawyers say US town official accused of shooting of DoorDash driver was ‘protecting his home'
An upstate New York town official accused of shooting and wounding a food delivery person says he was protecting his family and has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and other charges. Ring doorbell camera footage shows John Reilly III, the highway superintendent in Chester, a town nearly 60 miles (96km) north of Manhattan, shooting at the DoorDash driver's car on 2 May as the person was trying to leave Reilly's property. Prosecutors allege the shooting was unprovoked, saying the driver was lost and his cellphone battery was dead, as he only tried to see if Reilly had ordered the food he was trying to deliver. But Reilly's lawyer, Thomas Kenniff, said in a phone interview Tuesday that Reilly, worried about a home invasion, was legally defending his family after the driver insisted on entering his home. Reilly pleaded not guilty Monday during an appearance at the Orange county courthouse in Goshen. The charges also include first-degree assault and weapons crimes. He did not comment while leaving the courthouse and remains free on bail. Orange county district attorney David Hoovler called the shooting a 'horrifying' act of violence. The driver, who authorities have not named, was shot in the back and seriously wounded. Video clips from Reilly's Ring doorbell camera, obtained by TV station News 12 and the Times Union, show the series of events. One clip shows the driver walking up to Reilly's front door with a plastic bag and ringing the doorbell. Another, from a short time later, appears to show the driver back in his car and Reilly exiting his house with a handgun. Reilly then fires a shot into his front lawn while saying, 'Go.' The video then shows Reilly shooting at the car as the driver is making a three-point turn in the driveway. He fires a third shot as the car is driving away. Kenniff said the videos do not tell the full story. Kenniff said Reilly's 12-year-old daughter woke him up after the driver rang the doorbell and he answered the door, telling the driver he didn't order any food. The driver, who was not wearing anything indicating he was from DoorDash, insisted on coming into the house to charge his phone, Kenniff said. Kenniff alluded to the fact that there have previously been home invasion robberies 'locally and around the country', adding: 'My client, I think quite reasonably … tells the gentleman to leave and advises that he's going to get a gun that he uses for home protection, as a lot of people in rural areas justifiably do.' Kenniff said Reilly fired shots in an attempt to get the driver to leave his property and didn't intend to harm the man. 'I think that this was a situation where my client reasonably believed that there was a threat and he took actions to try to protect his home and protect his family, and unfortunately there may have been unintended consequences,' Kenniff said. Kenniff and his firm also represented Daniel Penny, who was acquitted of criminally negligent homicide in December in connection with the chokehold death of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway in 2023. Police executed a search warrant at Reilly's house and seized eight illegally possessed guns, including the .45-caliber handgun used to shoot the driver, Hoovler said. While Reilly had a federal license to sell firearms, he did not have a New York state firearms license or pistol permit, making his possession of the guns illegal, Hoovler said. 'The unprovoked violence alleged in this case is truly horrifying,' Hoovler said in a statement. Reilly is due back in court on 2 July.
CTV News
7 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Town official claims self-defence in shooting of DoorDash driver in New York
A DoorDash Inc. delivery person holds an insulated bag at Chef Geoff's restaurant in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, March 26, 2020. (AP Photo) An upstate New York town official accused of shooting and wounding a food delivery person says he was protecting his family and has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and other charges. Ring doorbell camera footage shows John Reilly III, the highway superintendent in Chester, a town nearly 60 miles (96 kilometres) north of Manhattan, shooting at the DoorDash driver's car on May 2 as the person was trying to leave Reilly's property. Prosecutors allege the shooting was unprovoked, saying the driver was lost and his cellphone battery was dead, as he only tried to see if Reilly had ordered the food he was trying to deliver. But Reilly's lawyer, Thomas Kenniff, said in a phone interview Tuesday that Reilly, worried about a home invasion, was defending his family after the driver insisted on entering his home. Reilly pleaded not guilty Monday during an appearance at the Orange County courthouse in Goshen. The charges also include first-degree assault and weapons crimes. He did not comment while leaving the courthouse and remains free on bail. Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler called the shooting a 'horrifying' act of violence. The driver, who authorities have not named, was shot in the back and seriously wounded. Video clips from Reilly's Ring doorbell camera, obtained by TV station News 12 and the Times Union, show the series of events. One clip shows the driver walking up to Reilly's front door with a plastic bag and ringing the doorbell. Another, from a short time later, appears to show the driver back in his car and Reilly exiting his house with a handgun. Reilly then fires a shot into his front lawn while saying, 'Go.' The video then shows Reilly shooting at the car as the driver is making a three-point turn in the driveway. He fires a third shot as the car is driving away. Kenniff said the videos do not tell the full story. Kenniff said Reilly's 12-year-old daughter woke him up after the driver rang the doorbell and he answered the door, telling the driver he didn't order any food. The driver, who was not wearing anything indicating he was from DoorDash, insisted on coming into the house to charge his phone, Kenniff said. 'My client, I think quite reasonably given the rash of home invasion robberies locally and around the country ... tells the gentleman to leave and advises that he's going to get a gun that he uses for home protection, as a lot of people in rural areas justifiably do,' Kenniff said. Kenniff said Reilly fired shots in an attempt to get the driver to leave his property and didn't intend to harm the man. 'I think that this was a situation where my client reasonably believed that there was a threat and he took actions to try to protect his home and protect his family, and unfortunately there may have been unintended consequences,' Kenniff said. Kenniff and his firm also represented Daniel Penny, a U.S. Marine veteran who was acquitted of criminally negligent homicide in December in connection with the chokehold death of a mentally ill man on a New York City subway in 2023. Police executed a search warrant at Reilly's house and seized eight illegally possessed guns, including the .45-caliber handgun used to shoot the driver, Hoovler said. While Reilly had a federal license to sell firearms, he did not have a New York state firearms license or pistol permit, making his possession of the guns illegal, Hoovler said. 'The unprovoked violence alleged in this case is truly horrifying,' Hoovler said in a statement. Reilly is due back in court on July 2. Dave Collins, The Associated Press
Associated Press
7 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
Town official claims self-defense in shooting of DoorDash driver in New York
An upstate New York town official accused of shooting and wounding a food delivery person says he was protecting his family and has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and other charges. Ring doorbell camera footage shows John Reilly III, the highway superintendent in Chester, a town nearly 60 miles (96 kilometers) north of Manhattan, shooting at the DoorDash driver's car on May 2 as the person was trying to leave Reilly's property. Prosecutors allege the shooting was unprovoked, saying the driver was lost and his cellphone battery was dead, as he only tried to see if Reilly had ordered the food he was trying to deliver. But Reilly's lawyer, Thomas Kenniff, said in a phone interview Tuesday that Reilly, worried about a home invasion, was defending his family after the driver insisted on entering his home. Reilly pleaded not guilty Monday during an appearance at the Orange County courthouse in Goshen. The charges also include first-degree assault and weapons crimes. He did not comment while leaving the courthouse and remains free on bail. Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler called the shooting a 'horrifying' act of violence. The driver, who authorities have not named, was shot in the back and seriously wounded. Video clips from Reilly's Ring doorbell camera, obtained by TV station News 12 and the Times Union, show the series of events. One clip shows the driver walking up to Reilly's front door with a plastic bag and ringing the doorbell. Another, from a short time later, appears to show the driver back in his car and Reilly exiting his house with a handgun. Reilly then fires a shot into his front lawn while saying, 'Go.' The video then shows Reilly shooting at the car as the driver is making a three-point turn in the driveway. He fires a third shot as the car is driving away. Kenniff said the videos do not tell the full story. Kenniff said Reilly's 12-year-old daughter woke him up after the driver rang the doorbell and he answered the door, telling the driver he didn't order any food. The driver, who was not wearing anything indicating he was from DoorDash, insisted on coming into the house to charge his phone, Kenniff said. 'My client, I think quite reasonably given the rash of home invasion robberies locally and around the country ... tells the gentleman to leave and advises that he's going to get a gun that he uses for home protection, as a lot of people in rural areas justifiably do,' Kenniff said. Kenniff said Reilly fired shots in an attempt to get the driver to leave his property and didn't intend to harm the man. 'I think that this was a situation where my client reasonably believed that there was a threat and he took actions to try to protect his home and protect his family, and unfortunately there may have been unintended consequences,' Kenniff said. Kenniff and his firm also represented Daniel Penny, a U.S. Marine veteran who was acquitted of criminally negligent homicide in December in connection with the chokehold death of a mentally ill man on a New York City subway in 2023. Police executed a search warrant at Reilly's house and seized eight illegally possessed guns, including the .45-caliber handgun used to shoot the driver, Hoovler said. While Reilly had a federal license to sell firearms, he did not have a New York state firearms license or pistol permit, making his possession of the guns illegal, Hoovler said. 'The unprovoked violence alleged in this case is truly horrifying,' Hoovler said in a statement. Reilly is due back in court on July 2.
CNN
07-05-2025
- CNN
New York town official facing charges after shooting lost DoorDash driver, police say
See all topics A New York town official is facing a slew of charges after allegedly shooting a DoorDash delivery driver who was lost and looking for directions in the town of Chester last week, police said. The DoorDash driver suffered serious, nonfatal injuries, New York State Police said in a statement released Sunday. As of Tuesday, the victim remained hospitalized after undergoing surgery, CNN affiliate WABC reported. It marks the latest instance of someone in the US being shot after making an apparently innocent mistake, like ringing the wrong doorbell or pulling into the wrong driveway. According to New York police, the driver had attempted to deliver food to a residence in the Valerie Drive neighborhood in Chester last Friday. Chester is roughly 50 miles north of Manhattan. The driver, who police didn't identify, struggled to find the exact location and approached several homes asking for directions before arriving at the residence of John Reilly III, the town's highway superintendent, police said. Reilly then told the driver to get off his property before firing multiple rounds at the victim as he attempted to leave in his vehicle, according to police. The driver was shot once in the back, police said, 'causing serious physical injuries.' The driver was provided with the 'correct consumer address' in the Dasher app, but he went to the wrong house, DoorDash told CNN in a statement. The delivery was due for roughly 10 p.m. Friday and in 'a rural location,' the company said. 'No one should ever fear for their safety just for trying to make deliveries in their neighborhood,' DoorDash said in the statement. 'We're devastated by this senseless act of violence, and we're praying for a full and speedy recovery. We'll continue to work closely with law enforcement as they investigate this tragic incident.' A relative of the victim told WABC the driver 'thought his life was over.' He was so scared that he first stopped at a gas station after the incident, before driving dozens of miles away to his home in Middletown, the relative said. 'Yes, the situation makes us angry, but we're just very grateful that he's alive, and we want this guy to get the punishment he deserves because he tried to kill him,' the relative told WABC. Reilly, a federally licensed firearms dealer, has been charged with assault in the first degree, the criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and the criminal possession of a firearm, according to police. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 9 in the Town of Chester Court. CNN has reached out to New York State police and Chester police for further details. Other similar cases of someone being shot after approaching a home for innocent reasons have resulted in criminal convictions. Last year, a 66-year-old man was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for fatally shooting a woman in a car that mistakenly drove up his driveway in rural New York. Homeowner Kevin Monahan claimed he was protecting his wife and was concerned about past criminal activity in his neighborhood when he lost his balance on some nails and fired the fatal shot at Kaylin Gillis, 20, from his porch in April 2023. Gillis was killed just days after a Black teenager in Kansas City was shot twice by a White homeowner after going to the wrong address to pick up his siblings. The now-deceased shooter Andrew Lester pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree assault in the shooting of then-16-year-old Ralph Yarn.
