Judge denies Connellsville man’s petition to dismiss manslaughter charge
A Fayette County judge has rejected a Connellsville man’s petition for dismissal of an involuntary manslaughter charge related to a shooting that claimed the life of the man’s cousin.
Jeremy Paul Hamborsky, 24, faces a single count of involuntary manslaughter after a handgun he was handling early Aug. 11 went off, striking and killing Kylie Marie Sage, 23. Hamborsky, Sage and two other witnesses were seated inside Sage’s pickup truck on North Bellview Road in Bullskin Township when the incident occurred, police alleged.
Hamborsky’s attorney, Emily Smarto, filed a motion to dismiss the case in April, claiming prosecutors would be unable to prove Hamborsky’s actions were negligent or reckless.
In an opinion handed down Wednesday, Judge Joseph M. George Jr. stated that the prosecution has provided enough evidence to move the case forward and to try the facts before a jury.
George noted that, according to police reports, Hamborsky had been drinking prior to the incident, having one or two beers with a late dinner and another two beers at a bar around closing time.
Hamborsky told police that he asked his cousin if the .45-caliber Ruger pistol was loaded, and she told him it was not, court documents state. With the gun pointed toward Sage, he then racked the slide, which normally would have chambered a round, and the gun went off.
“(Hamborsky) should have understood the risks associated with such conduct,” George wrote.
“The court acknowledges defendant’s stated impression that the weapon was unloaded,” the judge stated. “While this fact, if believed, would support the premise that the killing was unintentional, that alone does not exculpate (or remove blame from) defendant from what any reasonable person would consider a conscious disregard for a substantial and unjustifiable risk.”
The case will be scheduled for trial at a later date.