SHERBURNE – A man accused of killing his friend with a shotgun over the weekend will have his case heard by a Chenango grand jury. At a hearing in the Village of Sherburne Court Thursday night, police officers relayed how the defendant had confessed to the crime.
Joshua T. Story, 23, of 33 Classic St., appeared in court charged with the shooting death of Kallin P. Richards, 24, of New Berlin, on Saturday.
Assistant District Attorney Stephen Dunshee called three members of the Sheriff’s Department to the stand – Lt. James E. Lloyd, Detective Sergeant Richard M. Cobb and the crime scene technician, Deputy Gerald Perry. They testified that the state had reasonable cause to believe Story killed Richards. Public Defender James Cameron called no witnesses. Village Justice Jim Peptis ruled in favor of the case being handed up to a grand jury.
“Reasonable cause. The testimony given clearly shows a felony was committed and I believe he was indeed the one to kill Mr. Richards,” said Peptis.
The first witness called at last night’s proceeding was Cobb. “There was a witness who gave us the defendant’s name and saw the incident,” said Cobb.
“Ten minutes after I arrived, we went to Joshua Story’s apartment, number 105. The defendant’s girlfriend let us in and we found the defendant in his bedroom,” said Cobb.
Lloyd later testified, “We found the defendant sleeping.” Police arrested Story and discovered a shotgun in his closet in the bedroom. “We didn’t take it then, though. We took the defendant and then waited for a search warrant,” Lloyd said.
Story was read his Miranda rights and taken to a patrol car by Cobb, where he asked the detective for a cigarette and before asking about Richards’ condition, the detective testified.
Cameron asked Cobb, “When you told him of the condition of Kallin, what was his reaction? Was he upset?” Cobb said yes.
“I asked if he understood his rights and if he wanted to speak to me. He responded he did. He told me he couldn’t remember much and said his memory was ‘sketchy.’ He stated they had a fight, that Kallin choked him out and that he couldn’t remember what happened,” said Cobb.
