“About 2 in the afternoon on Saturday, I sitting in our family room with my wife Crystal. We were at the table, when we heard the biggest bang I had heard since I was in the military”, said Lyons Town Supervisor Brian Manktelow.It turned out that an errant bullet from a hunter had missed its target and, instead struck the southwest side of the Manktelow’s home.
“I investigated and saw wood chips and broken glass in the bedroom. The hole carried through to the other wall and into another bedroom, and then through the bathroom wall and hit the shower,” reported Manktelow of the damage to his home.
He estimated that the shot went about 40 feet through the house.
Manktelow reported that his daughter arrived at the house a short time later and told him that a truck was parked on the front road. Brian put on his coat and “trudged” down to the road. When he arrived, he noticed several hunters were coming out of the woods to their truck. “I asked them if they had been hunting here,” said Brian. “They said they were hunting on my neighbor’s land. I asked if they had shot a deer, and one said he had tried to shoot one, but he got away. I told him that he hit my house with that shot, and he said there was no way,” said Manktelow.
Brian had called 911 after the incident and a Deputy was just driving up.
Richard C. Greenfield, age 46 of Rodgers Crossing in Carthage, NY was subsequently arrested following the incident.
Greenfield is accused of recklessly causing damage to the residence of 2911 State Route 14, Lyons, when he was hunting in the woods directly behind the residence. Greenfield attempted to shoot at a deer, in which the round missed and proceeded to go through a bedroom window of the house and cause significant damage to multiple rooms. Greenfield was charged with Criminal Mischief in the Fourth Degree and Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Officers tracked the path of the slug. Greenfield was issued appearance tickets to appear in the Town of Lyons Court at a later date to answer the charges.
“Their actions…you have to be accountable for,” Sheriff Barry Virts said. “Again, just follow the safety rules. Never point the muzzle at someone, always make sure it’s pointed in a safe direction, and always handle the firearm as if it’s loaded.” The DEC was back on scene on Monday to take pictures and measurements.
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