Shooter facing prison sentence

LOWVILLE — A Greig man is facing up to 18 years in state prison after pleading guilty Friday to manslaughter in Lewis County Court in connection with a March 6 shooting in his driveway.

Louis S. Meszaros, 51, Pine Grove Road, was arraigned on a charge of first-degree man-slaughter, a Class B violent felony, and pleaded guilty to the charge. He also waived his right to appeal.

Sentencing was set for Dec. 11.

The sentencing offer is 13 to 18 years in prison, with five years of post-release parole supervision, District Attorney Leanne K. Moser said in court. The offer was made to help allow "family members to be able to go forward with their lives," she said.

Meszaros is accused of shooting Jamie W. Duvelow, 24, Glenfield, in the chest and stomach area with a 12-gauge shotgun. The incident occurred shortly after Meszaros called dispatchers to report excessive noise from an all-terrain vehicle in the neighborhood, according to police.

Mr. Duvelow died March 27 at Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, of injuries suffered in the shooting.

Meszaros — who entered and left the courtroom with the aid of a walker — indicated that he did not know Mr. Duvelow and shot the young man in an attempt to keep him away.

"It's a sad thing for both the family of the young victim and the family of Mr. Meszaros — and for Mr. Meszaros," said Meszaros's attorney, Richard N. Bach, afterward.

Mr. Bach said that his client, who is unable to run, acted out of a fear for his safety when Mr. Duvelow approached him.

"What he did was what he thought he had to do to protect himself from being either injured or killed," the attorney said.

Despite Meszaros' actions March 6, Mr. Bach said he does have a good side.

"In 44 years of practicing law, Mr. Meszaros is the only criminal defendant I've ever had that has asked, when I left, to join with me in prayer for the family of the victim and for what he deemed my assistance to him," he said.

No matter what was said to Meszaros on the night of March 6, shooting a person is "not the way any civilized person acts," Ms. Moser said afterward.

Through one bad decision, one man's life was ended and another one's life is, for all intents and purposes, over as well, she said.

"It's a tragic situation all around," Ms. Moser said.

This case was the first homicide in Lewis County since 1995.

"This is what happens when people let things get out of control," Ms. Moser said.