bought a Beeman from Wallys last summer for $125.00. the .177 barrel runs @1000+fps where the .22 barrel runs @800+fps.
i'm sure either one could slip one btwn the ribs...
Posted on 01/11/2009 5:58:42 PM PST by Coleus
A West Milford man was charged today with reckless manslaughter in the shooting death of his wife this morning. Police said Frank McDonald shot his wife Cheryl, 44, in the left side of her back with a pellet gun the family used to shoot squirrels. “The way it looks, it was just a freak accident,” police Capt. Andrew Russo said.
“If you were going to kill someone, you would find something better to use.” A pellet gun is powered by compressed gas, but at pressures far below those of standard firearms. Frank McDonald called 911 at 9:59 a.m. from the family’s Weedon Drive home. He said his wife had been struck with a pellet and was having trouble breathing, police said.
By the time the police and an ambulance arrived at the house, Cheryl McDonald had gone into respiratory distress, Russo said. She was pronounced dead about 10:30 a.m. en route to West Milford High School, where a medevac helicopter was going to pick her up. Investigators questioned Frank McDonald at the West Milford police station before charging him with the second-degree crime. His bail was set at $150,000. The reckless manslaughter charge has a potential penalty of five to 10 years in prison and $150,000 in fines.
West Milford Police Department and the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office are investigating the shooting. “We are still working on how it happened,” said Capt. James Beatrice, who is in charge of the Major Crimes Unit in the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office. “Right now, it appears to be an accidental discharge of the gun. We won’t know more until we complete this investigation.”
Police cars, their lights flashing, were parked outside the family’s Colonial home for much of the afternoon as crime scene investigators walked in and out of the house. At one point, neighbors came outside to comfort a boy one neighbor said was the couple’s 12-year-old son as he left with relatives. “He just needs his mother,” said the neighbor, who declined to give his name.
The neighbors were stunned by the incident. “That does not happen on Weedon Drive,” said Debbie Poat, who lives two doors away from the McDonalds on the wooded street. “It’s quiet little cul-de-sac." “She was always so friendly,” Poat said of Cheryl McDonald. “When I went by, she would always wave.”
A former colleague at the West Milford Century 21 office where McDonald once worked as a real estate agent described her as a hard worker with an excellent sense of humor. “She was a pleasure to work with,” Keith Michaelson said. “She was a funny gal. We always had a good time when she was in the office. All I remember is we used to laugh a lot.” Michaelson said McDonald left her real estate career for another job about five years ago.
EARLIER STORY:
WEST MILFORD — A 44-year-old township mother was killed Saturday morning after being shot in the back with a pellet gun. Authorities said Cheryl McDonald, 44, of Weeden Drive died en route to Chilton Memorial Hospital in Pompton Plains after being picked up by the West Milford First Aid Squad about 10:30 a.m. They described the shooting as accidental.
Police said they received a 911 call at 9:59 a.m. from McDonald’s husband, Frank McDonald, who said his wife had been struck with a pellet and “wasn’t feeling well.” A pellet gun is powered by compressed gas, but at pressures far below those of standard firearms. The McDonalds used the gun to shoot squirrels, one police official said.
West Milford Police Department and the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office are investigating the shooting. “We are still working on how it happened,” said Capt. James Beatrice, who is in charge of the Major Crimes Unit in the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office. “Right now, it appears to be an accidental discharge of the gun. We won’t know more until we complete this investigation.”
Neighbors were stunned by the incident. “That does not happen on Weedon Drive,” said Debbie Poat, who lives two doors away from the McDonalds. “It’s quiet little cul-de-sac." “She was always so friendly,” Poat said of Cheryl McDonald. “When I went by, she would always wave.”
It took two people to write that?
Obama: Note to myself — use this as an excuse to ban pellet and BB guns.
why do they arrest the guy if they already know it was just a stupid freak accident?
Nifong Syndrome -- he needs new pelts?
Because that is what they do.
If they have to take time off of their revenue-enhancement activities to write a report on something, somebody is going to jail.
My guess is NJ could really use the $150,000 fine.
I want to know the make and model of that pellet gun.
I own maybe a dozen pellet riles and pistols and some are fairly powerful. Still surprises me that she died before getting to a hospital. Must have been an incredibly unlucky placement.
Right, it was an accident and therefore no charges should be brought or it was intentional and the charge should be murder.
for the children ???
I'd guess it went between ribs and into the lung.
There are quite a few which will go over 1000fps and some even 1200 feet per second. The pellets are generally a lot lighter than even a .22 short, therefore energy is much less than a .22 .
Of course it is possible to make them powerful enough to kill deer but those are extremely uncommon.
Need a FIREARMS ID to own a pellet or BB gun in Zoo Jersey. Maybe the husband didn’t have one !
The axel shot his wife with a pellet gun and lo and behold she died that’s why he got arrested.............he was po’d at her and shot her and she died. Tough toenails, bud, have fun in prison.
bought a Beeman from Wallys last summer for $125.00. the .177 barrel runs @1000+fps where the .22 barrel runs @800+fps.
i'm sure either one could slip one btwn the ribs...
Magic pellet.
The 2nd Law of Gun Safety - Never Point A Gun At Something You’re Not Prepared To Destroy!
(if it will kill a squirel, it will kill a human, under the right circumstances)
Headline reads funny...how did the guy’s wife’s pellet gun die ?
Freak Accident? Hello! What is the first rule of ANY gun (even an air rifle like in this case)? NEVER point it at anything you are not willing to destroy.
Pointing an air rifle at a person and pulling the trigger is a long way from an accident. The INTENT MIGHT not have been to cause death... but what do you expect? It will kill squirrels - it can't be "good" for a person... duh.
Either this is the dumbest murderer in a while, or good judgement is not even mentionable in association with this man. One would wonder if alcohol or drugs was involved... One would almost hope so - because the thought of someone being THIS dumb is truly terrifying.
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