Man sentenced in shooting of lost DoorDash driver in Chester
CHESTER, New York (WABC) -- A Hudson Valley man who shot a lost DoorDash driver was sentenced to 17 years behind bars on Monday.
The shooting happened in May of 2025.
Prosecutors say the DoorDash driver knocked on the door of John Reilly's home in Chester because he was lost and his phone battery died.
Officials say Reilly told him to leave and fired multiple shots, even as the victim tried to get away in his car.
On Monday, the victim's attorney reacted to the sentence.
"We accept the verdict, we don't take any pleasure in it, but we accept it based on the gravity of the situation," said attorney Rudyard Whyte.
Reilly is the former highway superintendent of Chester, New York.
Reilly's attorney said the punishment is too harsh.
"It's hard to rationalize why someone who has achieved an impartial acquittal of the most serious offenses, or two of the three most serious offenses, should face a harsher sentence post-trial," said defense attorney Thomas Kenniff
Reilly's attorney said they plan to appeal and insists that his client is remorseful.
"Mr. Reilly is doing the best he can under the circumstances. He' continuing to express his remorse over the whole situation, particularly the injuries that were caused to the complainant in this case," Kenniff said.
Prosecutors say the victim will live with the injuries he suffered for the rest of his life.
The case will next be heard in civil court in a separate lawsuit.
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