Douglas Walker

dwalker@muncie.gannett.com

David McLaughlin fired three gunshots at an intruder he said fled from his garage on April 21.

One of the bullets struck David Bailey - charged with burglary in the break-in - in the left arm.

A Jay County jury in September found McLaughlin guilty of criminal recklessness%2C a felony.

Judge Max Ludy Jr. agreed to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor in a bid to save McLaughlin%27s job.

PORTLAND – A man who shot an intruder outside his Dunkirk home was sentenced Wednesday to 60 days in the Jay County jail, followed by four months on home detention.

David McLaughlin, 32, was found guilty of criminal recklessness resulting in serious bodily injury by a Jay Superior Court jury on Sept. 4. Testimony indicated he fired three gunshots April 21 at a man he said had broken into his garage, at least two after the intruder had left his property and was running down an alley.

David A. Bailey, 29, of Albany — charged with burglary in the garage break-in — testified he was shot in the left arm.

On Wednesday, Judge Max Ludy Jr. — who agreed to reduce McLaughlin's conviction from felony to misdemeanor status in a bid to preserve the defendant's job as a letter carrier — said he found the firing of the first gunshot, in the direction of a neighbor's home, especially "reprehensible."

"You don't fire guns at people's houses," Ludy said. "You kept saying you really didn't know what was going on. If that's the truth, why in the world would you fire a gun? ... It really doesn't matter if it was (at) Mr. Bailey or the mayor of Dunkirk. You just can't do that."

McLaughlin said the April incident has had a devastating impact on his family, leading to his suspension from his USPS job until the case was resolved.

"I've had to sell a lot of my personal belongings to get by," he said.

Defense attorney Jill Gonzalez presented the testimony of her client's pastor and friends of his family, who said he was a devoted family man with no history of violence.

The defendant — whose property had previously been targeted by thieves — said after firing the gunshots he "prayed to God" his bullets had not struck their intended target.

Gonzalez said her client — a father of three who had no prior criminal record — "wasn't out there looking for someone to shoot."

The attorney urged Ludy to allow her client to "continue to be an upstanding part of Dunkirk's community."

"They need more people like David," she said.

Jay County Prosecutor Wesley Schemenaur said McLaughlin deserved the felony conviction as a result of "the choices he made that night."

"Not only did he shoot another human being," Schemenaur said, "he put an entire neighborhood in danger."

The prosecutor also noted a felony conviction would prohibit McLaughlin from owning firearms, and "get the defendant's attention." He also recommended a 180-day jail sentence.

McLaughlin told the judge authorities did not need to be concerned about his future use of guns.

"I never want to hold a firearm again," he said. "I never will."

With credit for good behavior, McLaughlin's jail sentence could be reduced from 60 to 30 days, and his stint on home detention could be shortened from four months to two months. He will also serve a year on probation.

Ludy said he had never before reduced the conviction of an offender in the immediate wake of a jury trial. He said he was largely taking that action with McLaughlin's children in mind.

"Don't make me sorry I did that," the judge warned the defendant.

McLaughlin and Gonzalez said they did not intend to appeal his conviction or sentence.

Contact news reporter Douglas Walker at (765) 213-5851. You can also follow him on Twitter @DouglasWalkerSP.