Suspended Sentence With Probation—

Sandy Hook Man Fined For Gunfire Conviction  

By Andrew Gorosko

DANBURY — A Sandy Hook man last week pleaded guilty in court to one of three criminal charges against him stemming from a March incident in which he fired a rifle near his home, located across Berkshire Road from Newtown High School.

The incident spurred a burst of police activity in the area and “lockdown status” at the high school and other local schools, as police sought to gauge the nature of the problem.

On July 6 in Danbury Superior Court, Kevin Fitzgerald, 46, of 21 Berkshire Road, faced charges of second degree reckless endangerment, unlawful discharge of a firearm, and second degree breach of peace stemming from a March 31 incident in which he fired a Marlin .30-30 rifle near his home.

Last spring, Fitzgerald, who was represented by a public defender, had pleaded “not guilty” to all three charges. While the charges were pending against him, Fitzgerald was free on $10,000 bail.

But on July 6, Fitzgerald changed his plea from “not guilty” to “guilty,” on the unlawful discharge of a firearm charge.

At that time, the state prosecutor agreed to drop the two other charges against Fitzgerald.

As a penalty for the conviction on the firearm charge, the judge fined Fitzgerald $15 and gave him a three-month suspended jail sentence. Fitzgerald will serve a one-year probation on that conviction, during which time he must not possess any firearms. Fitzgerald must pay the court a $200 administrative fee for the probation.

If he violates the terms of his probation, Fitzgerald would face the possibility of serving three months in jail.

The maximum penalty for the firearm charge is a $250 fine and a three-month jail sentence. The charge involves the intentional, negligent, or careless discharge of a firearm with the likelihood of causing bodily injury or death to people or domestic animals, or the wanton destruction of property. 

At the March incident, police seized a Marlin .30-30 rifle, one 20-round box of Winchester .30-30 ammunition, and the slug from a fired round of ammunition that had become lodged in a tree near Mr Fitzgerald’s home, according to court records.

About noon on March 31, responding to a report of a man handling a rifle in the vicinity of the high school, waves of town police and state police went to the area, blocking off Berkshire Road and then focusing their investigation at Mr Fitzgerald’s house across the street from the high school.

Police had received a report that there was “a man in a van with a rifle” sitting in a parked vehicle with its door open, across Berkshire Road from the high school.

As a precaution, all seven public schools briefly entered “lockdown” mode during the incident. Lockdown requires that all students to go to secure areas in the schools and be locked inside until a crisis passes.

The first police officer who arrived at 21 Berkshire Road heard a shot being fired, police have said. Mr Fitzgerald had shot a bullet into a tree near his home.

When confronted by police, Mr Fitzgerald surrendered without incident and was compliant. There were no injuries.