An ex-police chief who faces charges in connection with the accidental shooting that killed an 8-year-old boy lost an argument of semantics when a judge denied his motion to dismiss a charge.
Edward Fleury, who resigned chief of the police department in Pelham, Mass. is charged with manslaughter and four counts of furnishing a machine gun to a minor in connection with the death of Christopher Bizilj of Ashford, Conn.
Bizilj lost control of an Uzi submachine gun and shot himself during a gun expo at the Westfield Sportsman's Club last October.
The crux of Fleury’s argument was the word furnish, or rather the charge of furnishing a machine gun to a minor.
Fleury promoted the event but, his lawyers argued, he never personally handed the gun to Christopher, so he should not face that charge.
The judge denied the motion, and threw the semantic argument right back, with some legalese mixed in. The judge said in his decision there was ample evidence to support "aiding and abetting under the furnishing statute."
Carl Guiffre, of Hartford, and Domenico Spano, of New Milford, Conn., who supplied the guns, are also charged with involuntary manslaughter.
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A final pre-trial conference will be held in November with the trial date of Dec. 7, MassLive Reports.
