David Riley

@rilzd

A judge will decide Monday if Dawn Nguyen can walk out of state Supreme Court on probation or will begin serving a state prison sentence.

A jury convicted Nguyen a month ago of lying on a firearms transaction form in 2010 when she bought a 12-gauge shotgun and a .223-caliber semiautomatic rifle at Gander Mountain in Henrietta.

She said the weapons were for her, but prosecutors said they really were for her neighbor, William Spengler Jr. — a convicted felon barred from owning guns. Spengler used them 2½ years later to kill two volunteer firefighters on Christmas Eve at his Lake Road home in Webster.

Justice Thomas Moran is scheduled to sentence Nguyen, 25, on Monday. She has been at the Monroe County Jail since the verdict.

Nguyen was found guilty of a single charge — first-degree falsification of a business record. That's a felony, though it falls into the least severe class of non-violent felonies in New York.

Her sentence would likely range from probation to a state prison term of at least 11/ 3 years and no more than 4 years.

Assistant District Attorney Timothy Prosperi previously said prosecutors plan to ask for the maximum sentence.

Defense attorney Matthew Parrinello said he will argue for probation, partly because Nguyen has no prior criminal record. He also said the case did not show that Nguyen had any malice or knowledge back in 2010 of what Spengler might later do with the guns.

"Hopefully the judge will read the pre-sentence investigation report, read my sentencing memorandum and hand her down a fair sentence — not one that's affected by the media attention," Parrinello said.

One of Nguyen's sisters, Amber Wilk, began an online petition that has gathered 500 signatures, asking the judge to be lenient in his sentence. Describing her sister as helpful and giving, Wilk wrote that Nguyen should not be held responsible for Spengler's actions.

"She is an asset to this society, and she doesn't deserve to go to prison," Wilk wrote.

At least two competing online petitions also have cropped up, calling for Nguyen to see prison time.

Ted Scardino, one of two firefighters wounded in the 2012 shooting, said he hopes Nguyen receives the maximum penalty. Her actions had far greater consequences than other forms of falsifying a business record — forging a check, for example, he said.

"It was far more than a paper violation," Scardino said. "You need to look at the big picture and the context of what she did."

Nguyen also faces federal charges for illegally purchasing the firearms, selling to a known felon and being an unlawful user of marijuana. Federal prosecutors have asked to set a trial date.

A hearing on motions in that case is scheduled Wednesday in federal court.

In December 2012, Spengler set a fire at his home and ambushed West Webster firefighters, killing Michael Chiapperini and Tomasz Kaczowka and wounding both Scardino and Joseph Hofstetter.

The remains of Spengler's sister, Cheryl, also were found in his burned-out home. Authorities believe he shot her in the head with a handgun before setting the fire.

DRILEY@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/rilzd