Republic fire captain receives jail time for shooting death of junior firefighter
A Republic fire captain was sentenced to up to 23 months in prison in the shooting death of a junior firefighter.
Fayette County President Judge John F. Wagner Jr. said he thought long and hard about the appropriate sentence for George Matis Jr., 22, of Republic.
Matis fatally shot Parker Hess, 16, in the office of the Republic Fire Hall as the two prepared for the town’s light up night on Nov. 27, 2016. Authorities said Matis removed a 9mm Glock handgun from his holster, and a bullet discharged from the gun, hitting Hess in the cheek. Hess was pronounced dead at the scene.
Hess’ family spoke at his sentencing hearing on Friday, telling Wagner they were still trying to make sense of the tragedy.
“Why was there a gun in the fire station in the first place?” asked Hess’ grandmother, Sharon Cooper Hess.
She said her grandson helped his wheelchair-bound grandfather often, and her other grandchildren looked up to Parker Hess as a “hero.” Cooper Hess said her grandson planned to join the military and serve his country.
“Parker’s life meant something to a lot of people,” she said. “George Matis needs to be punished.”
Speaking from her seat in the courtroom, Hess’ mother, Heather Richards, told Wagner that state police were not finished with their investigation, declining an opportunity to give a victim impact statement at Matis’ sentencing.
Assistant District Attorney Meghann Mikluscak said she wasn’t aware of any additional police investigation, but spoke to police outside of the courtroom. When she returned, Mikluscak told Wagner that police and prosecutors were both on the same page in moving forward with a plea to involuntary manslaughter.
The troopers also told Wagner that there was no additional information about the case that should be brought to his attention in advance of the sentencing.
Mikluscak also read a statement from Hess’s aunt, Amy Hess, who wrote that their house of joy has been turned into a house of sorrow at the loss of her nephew, who was a ring bearer at her wedding when he was 3 years old.
Renee Alexander, another aunt, took the stand to question if what happened to her nephew was an accident as the safety had to be switched off and a lot of force was needed to pull the trigger.
Wagner said that even though the original charge of criminal homicide was amended to be involuntary manslaughter, the shooting was not considered an accident, because if it were, criminal charges wouldn’t have been filed.
“Clearly, this was grossly negligent handling of a firearm,” Wagner said.
While Matis did not offer a statement in or outside the courtroom, his attorney James T. Davis said his client was sincerely sorry about what had happened and expressed condolences to Hess’ family.
Davis, who asked Wagner to consider a sentence of intermediate punishment and house arrest in lieu of jail time, said Matis has been treated for post-traumatic stress disorder and has been treated by a therapist.
Mikluscak said the Republic Volunteer Fire Company paid about $11,647 toward Hess’ funeral and burial expenses.
A representative with the fire department in the courtroom asked Wagner if they could refuse being reimbursed from Matis for those costs. The judge said they could, and if they did not wish to pursue repayment from Matis, he would not include it in the sentence.
Wagner also took the opportunity to address anonymous letters sent to his chambers about the case, adding that if nobody signs the letters, then he won’t read them.
Along with the restitution, Matis is to serve 36 months probation upon release from prison, was directed to not own or possess any firearms, any and all firearms in his possession are to be surrendered to the sheriff’s office and he is to attend a firearm safety school.
Under the sentencing guidelines, Matis could have faced up to five years in prison.