An elderly man in New York was arrested for shooting two burglars in his house, not for murdering the intruders, but for shooting them with an unregistered gun.

“He was in the kitchen when he heard people in the garage coming up the stairs to the kitchen. When they got to the top of the stairs he told them to stop, but one started coming toward him. He fired three or four shots and struck both.” That’s how the scenario played out as 64 year old Ronald Stolarczyk did what he had to do when two burglars had broken into his home. This being in New York, police quickly arrested Stolarczyk and charged him not for any form of homicide, but for illegal possession of a firearm, because the gun he used to defend himself and his home had been inherited from his father and not registered.

The incident happened in Deerfield, New York, about 40 miles east of Syracuse, in Oneida county.

To make matters more infuriating, it turns out that the now-room-temp pair had previously robbed Stolarczyk. But Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara is shifting the blame for the robberies to Stolarczyk, calling him a hoarder and implying that he was just asking to be robbed.

McNamara said “a large amount of property” believed to have been taken from the initial burglary at Stolarczyk’s home was discovered at Nicholas Talerico’s apartment in Utica during the investigation of the shooting. Items recovered included an old Commodore computer and an old bicycle, McNamara said. Stolarczyk knew he had been burglarized recently, said his lawyer, Mark Wolber. Stolarczyk appears to be a hoarder, McNamara said, and among the items he collected were Commodore and Atari computers. “He had a lot of stuff in his place, and we believe the Talericos knew that, and were under the mistaken impression that the home was vacant,” McNamara said. The home has no electricity and no running water, the DA said. The home has been condemned due to its condition, he said. A female accomplice drove the pair to the house,he said. She has been fully cooperating with authorities and has not been charged at this time. Stolarczyk was charged with criminal possession of a firearm, a felony. The weapon was a 38-caliber Rossi revolver, according to the court paper. Stolarczyk said the gun had belonged to his father, but he hadn’t registered it after his father died. McNamara said his office typically prosecutes unregistered guns where the homeowner is present as misdemeanors, and not felonies. The first priority is to get the gun registered, he said. It’s not unusual for a family member to die and the gun gets passed onto a relative who doesn’t register it right away. The handgun was checked, and Stolarczyk’s dad purchased it legally from a local dealer, the DA said.

Stolarczyk has been released from jail on some form of pre trial release, and his next court date is August 5th. However, the state has now seized the home and Stolarczyk has no place to go. WKTV reports “Stolarczyk is being provided with temporary shelter and benefits through Social Services.”

Meanwhile, a Go Fund Me page has been set up for Stolarczyk.