Prosecutor says involuntary manslaughter case against Connellsville man should stand
A Fayette County prosecutor, in a brief filed Monday, argued that the case should stand against a Connellsville man accused of shooting his cousin, saying that his actions, while not intentional, were grossly negligent.
Jeremy Paul Hamborsky, 24, was charged with a single count of involuntary manslaughter after a handgun he was handling early Aug. 11 went off, striking and killing Kylie Marie Sage, 23, while seated inside Sage’s pickup truck on North Bellview Road in Bullskin Township. His attorney, Emily Smarto, filed a motion to dismiss the case in April, claiming the commonwealth would be unable to prove its case.
In the response, Assistant District Attorney Anthony S. Iannamorelli Jr. contended the opposite — that Hamborsky’s actions “were such a departure from what an ordinary and careful person would do under the circumstances that there is clear evidence of an indifference to the consequences of his actions.”
“First,” Iannamorelli wrote, “there is evidence that the defendant was consuming alcohol when he handled and racked the slide of the .45-caliber pistol in a vehicle with the barrel of the weapon pointed toward the seat the victim occupied.”
Iannamorelli contended that while the defense’s position is that state police Trooper Craig Soltis indicated that Hamborsky did not appear intoxicated when he interviewed him, another officer who came into contact with Hamborsky at the scene detected an odor of alcohol on the defendant. Iannamorelli also noted that Hamborsky admitted to drinking four or five beers throughout the night leading up to the shooting.
The prosecutor also argued that while Hamborsky reported he was familiar with guns and gun safety, he failed to confirm that the gun was unloaded, as Sage allegedly indicated it was.
“Even the most basic understanding of firearm safety dictates to always assume the weapon is loaded, do not put your finger anywhere near the trigger until you intend to shoot and to only point the firearm in a safe direction,” Iannamorelli contended.
“The defendant did the exact opposite of these most basic, fundamental, commonsensical and prudent of tasks.”