FORT EDWARD, New York — The homeowner accused of fatally shooting a 20-year-old woman when an SUV she was traveling in swerved into the wrong driveway was described in court Wednesday as a man with a reputation for being “hot-tempered.”
Wearing a jacket, dress shirt and leg irons, Kevin Monahan sat with his lawyer in a Washington County courtroom as prosecutors argued he was a flight risk. Charged with second-degree murder for shooting Kaylin Gillis, Monahan faces sentences, if convicted, of a minimum of 15 years to life in prison and a maximum of 25 years to life in prison. He previously pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Authorities said Monahan, 65, opened fire on a Ford Explorer from his front porch Saturday after a group of four friends realized they had taken the wrong turn and were leaving his home in Hebron, about 50 miles to the east. north Albany.
One of the two shots struck Gillis, an aspiring marine biologist who was pronounced dead several miles away after the group called 911.
Chief Assistant District Attorney Christian Morris said Wednesday that Monahan is “confrontational and short-tempered,” which lends itself to impulsiveness.
He also revealed that the suspect had recently “caused a scene” at a state Department of Motor Vehicles office, claiming that Monahan was upset that he had to appear in person. Prosecutors asked the judge to set bail of between $250,000 cash and partially secured bond of $1 million.
Monahan’s attorney, Kurt Mausert, accused prosecutors of spreading innuendo, saying an alleged explosion at the DMV should not count toward bail because “the whole state would be locked up. Everybody in the state has a bad DMV experience, that’s ridiculous.”
He asked Judge Adam Michelini to set a bond of between $10,000 cash and $50,000 partially guaranteed bond for his client, saying the purpose of the bond is to ensure the defendant’s participation in the criminal proceeding and not to impose an undue hardship.
However, Michelini ordered Monahan remanded in custody without bail.
The judge said the only considerations in his decision were Monahan’s alleged use of a firearm and the fact that Gillis was murdered.
“I don’t think there is more serious harm than that,” he said.
Michelini’s ruling prompted fist bumps and shoulder pats from Gillis’ family and friends.
However, Wednesday’s hearing shed no light on why the suspect allegedly opened fire at the van, but a neighbor said The Associated Press that Monahan had become increasingly annoyed in recent years by people making wrong turns in his driveway.
In an exclusive interview with NBC News Tuesday night, Blake Walsh said he and three passengers, two friends and Gillis, his girlfriend, were looking for a party when two rounds were fired in their direction.
“We thought we were heading in the right direction,” he said. “We didn’t have any cell service to solve it. As soon as we realized we were in the wrong place, we started to leave, and that’s when it all happened.”
Walsh, 19, of Cambridge, New York, said what happened next was a blur.
“My friend said: ‘They are shooting, go away!’ I tried to hit the accelerator as fast as I could, and that’s when the fatal shot was fired,” he said.
Walsh was present at Monahan’s hearing but declined to comment to reporters before and after the proceedings.
While Mausert declined to discuss the 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. I can’t elaborate on that until I do my own research, which I’m in the process of doing. And until I receive traceable material from the district attorney’s office.”
He said that Monahan had no bad intentions and that the human tendency is to mistreat someone when there is a tragedy.
“If the situation involves a mistake rather than malicious intent, then there really isn’t a villain,” Mausert said. being an evil intent”.
However, Washington County District Attorney Tony Jordan said during a post-hearing news conference that prosecutors are considering other charges against Monahan. One potential charge mentioned in court on Wednesday was attempted assault in the first degree. Jordan, while emphasizing that Monahan is presumed innocent, said: “My office will do everything in our power to ensure that justice is served for Kaylin Gillis.”
He said the evidence will determine any new charges against Monahan, noting that after the shooting, more than 40 law enforcement officers responded and worked to collect evidence.
“We will follow the facts where they lead us,” Jordan said.
Gillis’s father, Andrew Gillis, also spoke to reporters after the hearing. He said that he was thankful that he “could tell her that I love her before she walked out the door.”
He said he is “mad” that his daughter is dead, but Monahan being held without bail was the “best possible outcome” so early in the criminal case.
“It brings a little comfort,” he said. “I think everyone in the courtroom breathed a little sigh of relief when they heard that.”