M
icheal Leach, 61, who had been charged in the shooting death of his son Matthew, 37, was sentenced Tuesday, August 19, in Herkimer County Count, having pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide in June.
Matthew was shot by his father on July 21, 2012, in a room the two shared at Clark’s Beach Motel in Old Forge.
Both men worked in law enforcement in the Rochester area.
Michael told investigators he had been sleeping when his son entered the room. Believing his son to be an intruder, Michael said he grabbed a handgun that he kept at bedside, and shot his son.
Eventually, a grand jury would hear the case of Herkimer County District Attorney Jeffrey Carpenter, and indict Michael Leach on murder charges.
During the legal proceedings, psychiatric experts who examined Michael Leach concluded that he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and sleep-related issues.
This prevented him from perceiving the risk he was creating by sleeping with a loaded firearm by his bed, according to defense attorney Joe Damelio.
Judge John Crandall sentenced Leach to six months in jail, followed by five years probation.
Leach is also required to reimburse his son’s widow, Theresa Leach, for expenses relating to her husband’s funeral.
DA Carpenter said he hopes Michael Leach will finally seek treatment for his psychological condition, that the experts said dates back to the 1970s when, as a rookie police officer, he shot a teenage girl.