Montco Lawyer Gets 10+ Years For Shooting Hunter Near His Property
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (CBS) - A Montgomery County, Pa. attorney who admitted "recklessly" shooting and killing a Quakertown man on the first day of hunting season last November will spend at least ten years in state prison.
Bucks County judge Albert Cepparulo told defendant David Manilla, "You've touched your last firearm and pulled your last trigger," then sentenced the 49-year-old Worcester (Montgomery County) man to 10 to 25 years behind bars for killing Barry Groh.
Manilla offered an apology to the family but showed little emotion during sentencing. He had pleaded guilty to two firearms charges, and then before the sentencing changed his plea on involuntary manslaughter charges from "no contest" to guilty.
"I am happy to see him getting hauled off in handcuffs," said Groh's widow, Theresa, after the sentencing. "That was a tribute, because ever since the death of my husband he (Manilla) only had four days in jail -- that was it. So this was justice."
Manilla shot Groh, 50, after Groh snagged a buck while hunting near the lawyer's property. Prosecutors say Manilla then tried to cover it up.
Manilla is also the target of a federal investigation because he was a convicted felon who was caught with an arsenal of guns.
Reported by Brad Segall, KYW Newsradio 1060
