The following vignettes describe the circumstances for killings not ruled self-defense by private individuals with permits to carry concealed handguns. The incidents below all occurred in New York. The descriptions include the current, known status of any charges filed against the concealed carry killer as reported by news sources as well as noting instances where the perpetrator committed suicide.
The Violence Policy Center welcomes any new information regarding the status of any case (with verifiable source(s)). Use this link to contact the VPC: http://www.vpc.org/contact.htm.
Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Darien Shellman PENDING
Date: April 14, 2019
People Killed: 1
Circumstances: On April 14, 2019, concealed handgun permit holder Darien Shellman, 24, allegedly shot and killed his girlfriend Sarah Tombs, 22, in the bedroom of their home as he was loading his Smith & Wesson M&P .45 handgun. In a statement to police, Shellman said he took the unloaded handgun from a safe and sat on the bed next to Tombs while he loaded an ammunition magazine into the handgun and “racked the slide.” Shellman told police that he “inadvertently disengaged” the gun’s safety and had his finger on the trigger when Tombs “abruptly grabbed” the gun. One round discharged and fatally struck Tombs in the head. Tombs’ four-year-old daughter was in the residence at the time of the shooting. Shellman was charged with reckless manslaughter.
Source: “Navy vet killed girlfriend, a Destiny guard, with legal gun in Syracuse apartment,” syracuse.com, April 25, 2019.
Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Joseph Mlyniec CONVICTED
Date: March 7, 2018
People Killed: 1
Circumstances: On March 7, 2018, concealed handgun permit holder Joseph Mlyniec, 60, allegedly shot and killed Robert “Robbie” Irvine III, 32, in Mlyniec’s driveway. According to Irvine’s girlfriend, it was not unusual for Irvine to stop by Mlyniec’s home because he had belongings stored there and did odd jobs on the property. Mlyniec, who had no criminal record, was a retired sheriff’s department patrol sergeant. At the time of the shooting he was a member of the Perry Center Fire Department and served on the Perry Town Board. Mlyniec allegedly shot Irvine four times with a handgun, including once in the head. Mlyniec was charged with second degree murder and first degree intimidation of a witness or victim.
UPDATE: On October 11, 2018, Joseph Mlyniec pleaded guilty to second degree murder in the death of Robert Irvine III. On November 14, 2018, Mlyniec was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.
Source: “Pain, anger visible as ex-Wyoming County deputy is sentenced for murder,” Buffalo News, November 14, 2018; “Former sheriff’s deputy pleads not guilty to killing Perry man,” democratandchronicle.com, October 11, 2018; “Grand jury indicts Mlyniec for murder,” www.thedailynewsonline.com, April 10, 2018; “Perry board member accused of murder was ‘friends’ with victim,” wgrz.com, March 8, 2018.
Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Andre Lewis CONVICTED
Date: April 29, 2017
People Killed: 1
Circumstances: On April 29, 2017, concealed handgun permit holder Andre Lewis, 41, shot and killed his ex-stepfather Robert Todd Echols, 54, following an altercation in the lobby of the Niagara Frontier Sports Complex after a game in a girls’ basketball tournament. Echols’ 13-year-old daughter had played in the game. Lewis claimed he acted in self defense after Echols attacked him and began punching him as Lewis held his baby daughter. Prosecutors argued the shooting was not justified, noting that Lewis initially shot Echols in the face and then shot him a second time in the back while he was on his hands and knees on the floor. Lewis was charged with second degree murder. Juries were unable to reach a verdict in two separate trials. Prosecutors said that both juries deadlocked because the victim “basically sucker-punched the defendant while the defendant was holding his 14-month-old daughter.” Before a third trial could take place, Lewis pleaded guilty to first degree manslaughter and was sentenced to five years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.
Source: “No third trial in West Seneca homicide as Rochester man pleads to manslaughter,” Buffalo News, April 8, 2019.
Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Patrick Sorrentino SUICIDE
Date: November 21, 2015
People Killed: 2 (including shooter)
Circumstances: On November 21, 2015, concealed handgun permit holder Patrick Sorrentino, 55, shot and killed his ex-girlfriend Marie Giannone, outside her apartment before turning the gun on himself. Sorrentino, a retired police officer, waited outside Giannone’s apartment building, and according to investigators surprised her and shot her several times with a semiautomatic handgun before she could react. When police responded to a 911 call, they found Giannone partially inside her car in the driveway, and then discovered Sorrentino’s body approximately 30 feet away.
Source: “Police: Murder-suicide committed by retired cop,” recordonline.com, November 21, 2015.
Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Arthur Mondella SUICIDE
Date: February 24, 2015
People Killed: 1
Circumstances: On February 24, 2015, concealed handgun permit holder Arthur Mondella, 57, shot and killed himself at his workplace in Brooklyn, New York. Mondella was the owner of Dell’s Maraschino Cherries, one of the largest maraschino cherry suppliers in the country. The day law enforcement officials arrived, news reports say, Mondella grew nervous and went into the bathroom. With his sister standing outside the door, he shouted “take care of my kids” before turning his gun on himself. Police found marijuana and hundreds of thousands of dollars stashed in a fake wall. News reports say it was the largest marijuana operation police had ever seen in New York City.
Source: “Maraschino Cherry Tycoon Shoots Himself After Police Discover His Factory Is Actually a Front for Growing Pot,” People, February 25, 2015; “Secret Marijuana Farm Beneath Brooklyn Cherry Factory Leaves Many Mysteries,” The New York Times, February 26, 2015.
Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: David Reese CONVICTED
Date: February 3, 2014
People Killed: 1
Circumstances: On February 3, 2014, concealed handgun permit holder David Reese, 55, shot and killed co-worker Aron Thomas, 33, at the offices of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection in Midtown Kingston. Reese had confronted Thomas that morning claiming that he had broken into his house and was stalking him. Reese stated that he hid his 45 caliber handgun behind his thigh because he didn’t want Thomas, who was also sometimes armed, to know that he was carrying a weapon. Reese claimed that he punched Thomas in the face and that in the ensuing struggle, his gun unintentionally fired twice, one shot firing into the air, the other striking Thomas and killing him. During his trial, Thomas acknowledged that he knew gun safety rules and how to properly handle firearms from his time in the Navy and as part of the training required for his pistol permit. In June 2015, Reese was convicted of second degree murder.
Source: “David Reese convicted of murder in shooting death of co-worker Aron Thomas,” Daily Freeman, June 2, 2015; “Murder suspect David Reese testifies gun went off accidentally during struggle with Aron Thomas,” Daily Freeman, June 1, 2015.
Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Shawn Bryan SUICIDE
Date: June 4, 2012
People Killed: 2 (including shooter)
Law Enforcement Officers Killed: 2
Circumstances: On June 4, 2012, New York City Department of Correction Officer and concealed handgun permit holder Shawn Bryan, 34, shot and killed Springfield, Massachusetts, Police Officer Kevin Ambrose, 56, and shot and critically wounded his ex-girlfriend Charlene Mitchell, 29. Bryan and Mitchell’s one-year-old daughter was in the apartment at the time of the shooting but was unhurt. Mitchell had gone to court that day to take out an order of protection saying that Bryan was physically abusive towards her, describing him as mentally unstable and domineering, writing, “He is a demon.” Bryan had sent Mitchell multiple text messages including one that said, “I’m going to make you wish you were not born.” On the afternoon of June 4th, Mitchell called police to say Bryan was on the way to see her and that she feared for her life. Officer Ambrose arrived on the scene and found Mitchell and Bryan outside. The three of them then made their way to Mitchell’s third floor apartment. As they were entering, Bryan pushed Mitchell inside the apartment and followed, shutting the door and leaving Officer Ambrose outside. Bryan fired at Ambrose through the door with his 9mm pistol then opened the door and fired at him again. Bryan then turned the gun on Mitchell and shot her in the head before running back to his car where he shot himself in the chest. Bryan and Ambrose died from their wounds while Mitchell was in critical condition following surgery.
Source: “New York correction officer kills Mass. cop, shoots ex and kills himself,” New York Daily News, June 4, 2012.
Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Michael Boccardi SUICIDE
Date: November 16, 2011
People Killed: 2 (including shooter)
Circumstances: On November 16, 2011, concealed handgun permit holder Michael Boccardi, 47, shot and killed Michael Purdy, 56, as Purdy returned home with Boccardi’s estranged wife MaryAnn Boccardi. Boccardi, who was laying in wait at Purdy’s home, fired several shots at Purdy with his Glock .40 pistol as he was exiting the Mercury Sable that belonged to Boccardi’s wife. Purdy was struck once in the head and collapsed. Boccardi then jumped into the car and told his wife to drive. She tried to talk to her husband, who then shot himself in the head. The two men were described as “close friends” and each family had four children.
Source: “Friends’ murder-suicide shootings stun Mahopac,” LoHud.com, November 17, 2011.
Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Jiverly Wong SUICIDE
Date: April 3, 2009
People Killed: 14 (including shooter)
Circumstances: On April 3, 2009, concealed handgun permit holder Jiverly Wong, 41, walked into the American Civic Association in Binghamton, NY, where he had recently taken an English class, and opened fire, killing 13 former classmates before killing himself. Wong fired 98 shots in approximately one minute from his two pistols, a 9mm and a 45 caliber. Just before the shooting, Wong sent a letter to a Syracuse TV station saying that the police were spying on him, sneaking into his home, and attempting to get into car crashes with him. Wong was granted a concealed carry permit in Broome County, New York in 1997 which was still valid at the time of the shooting as permits issued there, unlike in other parts of the state of New York, do not have to be renewed.
Source: “Wong raised concerns with police in 1990s,” USA Today, April 19, 2009; “Binghamton Killer Kept His Fury Private,” New York Times, April 11, 2009; “Licensed to kill? Gunmen in killings had permits,” Associated Press, April 7, 2009.
Concealed Handgun Permit Holder: Frank Garcia CONVICTED
Date: February 14, 2009
People Killed: 4
Circumstances: On February 14, 2009, Frank Garcia allegedly opened fire with a .40 Glock pistol in the Lakeside Memorial Hospital parking lot in Brockport, New York. He had recently been fired by the hospital. He shot three people there, killing two, before killing a married couple at their home in Canandaigua. Garcia had been denied a permit to carry a pistol three times in the previous 15 years due to previous arrests for assault, harassment, and criminal possession of a weapon, before a judge granted him the ability to carry a concealed weapon in 2007. Garcia faced four charges of murder, and one charge of attempted murder. He was convicted and received a life sentence without possibility of parole for two of the murders, and is awaiting trial on two additional charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder.
UPDATE: In March 2017, an appellate court vacated one of the life sentences that Frank Garcia was serving after fatally shooting four people and wounding one other in 2009. In June 2017, Garcia was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for attempted first degree murder. This sentence is in addition to the four life sentences Garcia is serving, one for each slain victim.
Source: “Convicted killer Frank Garica gets maximum in re-sentencing from 2009 killing spree,” democratandchronicle.com, June 2, 2017; “Garcia evidence allowed by judge,” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, October 31, 2009; “After 3rd try, gun permit OK’d,” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, February 19, 2009; “Damelio will represent Garcia in Monroe Trial,” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, July 1, 2009; “Killer gets life for Valentine’s Day rampage in NY,” Associated Press, September 1, 2009.