Crystal
02-20-2005, 07:06 PM
Driver sent to prison for hit-and- run death
21-year-old is sentenced to up to eight years for killing man standing in a neighbor's front yard
By MIKE GOODWIN, Staff writer
First published: Thursday, February 17, 2005
SCHENECTADY -- A speeding motorist who ran down and killed a married father of two and then drove off was sentenced Wednesday to up to eight years in state prison.
Eric Munshi, 21, was sentenced to 4 to 8 years by Schenectady County Judge Karen Drago during an emotion-filled sentencing attended by the wife of victim Mark Gully and several of his relatives.
Gully was standing on the edge of a neighbor's front yard on Eltinge Place in Glenville where he was struck by Munshi's Volvo sedan. Prosecutors estimate Munshi was driving at least 50 mph, 20 mph above the speed limit, when he struck Gully, 38. Munshi sped off after the impact, which sent Gully tumbling about 100 feet.
A heart-wrenching letter penned by Gully's older son, 6-year-old Joshua, was read in court by the victim's father-in-law, Guy Amoroso.
"Eric Munshi, you took our Daddy, bumper cars, sleigh-riding, hide-and-seek, wrestling," the youngster wrote. "I want you to go to jail for 70 years, long enough to think about what you did to Daddy," the letter continued. "You took our father, you took Mommy's husband away."
Munshi pleaded guilty on Jan. 12 to second-degree manslaughter. Had he been convicted of the charge by a jury rather than accepting a plea bargain, Munshi would have faced up to 15 years in prison.
After the Aug. 15 accident, Munshi concealed his car in the garage at his mother's nearby home. Police said a sheet was hung in the garage window in an apparent effort to conceal the vehicle. Nonetheless, police arrested Munshi the next day.
Gully, a warehouse worker for United Parcel Service in Latham who coached youth football, also had a younger son, 4-year-old Seth.
"What (Wednesday's sentencing) accomplished today is some sort of closure for the Gully family," said Assistant District Attorney Matthew Sypniewski. "They've been dealing with the (criminal justice) system for about seven months now, and I think there is some closure, some comfort knowing that he was held accountable and won't be a threat to the residents in the Glenville community."
Munshi, who declined to speak at his sentencing, was taken into custody immediately. He is being held at Schenectady County Jail pending transfer to state custody.
21-year-old is sentenced to up to eight years for killing man standing in a neighbor's front yard
By MIKE GOODWIN, Staff writer
First published: Thursday, February 17, 2005
SCHENECTADY -- A speeding motorist who ran down and killed a married father of two and then drove off was sentenced Wednesday to up to eight years in state prison.
Eric Munshi, 21, was sentenced to 4 to 8 years by Schenectady County Judge Karen Drago during an emotion-filled sentencing attended by the wife of victim Mark Gully and several of his relatives.
Gully was standing on the edge of a neighbor's front yard on Eltinge Place in Glenville where he was struck by Munshi's Volvo sedan. Prosecutors estimate Munshi was driving at least 50 mph, 20 mph above the speed limit, when he struck Gully, 38. Munshi sped off after the impact, which sent Gully tumbling about 100 feet.
A heart-wrenching letter penned by Gully's older son, 6-year-old Joshua, was read in court by the victim's father-in-law, Guy Amoroso.
"Eric Munshi, you took our Daddy, bumper cars, sleigh-riding, hide-and-seek, wrestling," the youngster wrote. "I want you to go to jail for 70 years, long enough to think about what you did to Daddy," the letter continued. "You took our father, you took Mommy's husband away."
Munshi pleaded guilty on Jan. 12 to second-degree manslaughter. Had he been convicted of the charge by a jury rather than accepting a plea bargain, Munshi would have faced up to 15 years in prison.
After the Aug. 15 accident, Munshi concealed his car in the garage at his mother's nearby home. Police said a sheet was hung in the garage window in an apparent effort to conceal the vehicle. Nonetheless, police arrested Munshi the next day.
Gully, a warehouse worker for United Parcel Service in Latham who coached youth football, also had a younger son, 4-year-old Seth.
"What (Wednesday's sentencing) accomplished today is some sort of closure for the Gully family," said Assistant District Attorney Matthew Sypniewski. "They've been dealing with the (criminal justice) system for about seven months now, and I think there is some closure, some comfort knowing that he was held accountable and won't be a threat to the residents in the Glenville community."
Munshi, who declined to speak at his sentencing, was taken into custody immediately. He is being held at Schenectady County Jail pending transfer to state custody.