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Man has bench trial for firing warning shot
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
It’s not often a defendant shakes hands in court with the police officers who helped to prosecute him.
But 30-year-old Peter Horvath did so in municipal court Tuesday, after a short bench trial before Judge Elizabeth Kobly on a charge of discharging a firearm within city limits. Horvath had chased a suspected burglar May 10 at his West Side home and fired a warning shot into the air.
“I appreciate what you guys do,” Horvath said after closing arguments as he shook hands with officers Nick Menichini and Hannah Banks, who told him they were sorry he ended up in court.
Judge Kobly said after closing arguments she was taking the matter under advisement and would issue a ruling today.
Horvath was cited May 10, after police were called to his home on South Bon Air Avenue.
Horvath told police he thought someone was breaking into his car, and when he went outside, the person ran away. Horvath said he ran after the person, later discovered to be a juvenile, and fired a warning shot into the air.
The charge is a first-degree misdemeanor, and a jail sentence could be imposed if someone is found guilty.
Testifying under direct examination Tuesday from his attorney, Joseph Gardner, Horvath said there had been several burglaries in his neighborhood. He noticed someone on the side of his house near 11 p.m. May 10.
He said he saw people outside his home and went to see why they were there.
“I strongly felt they would break into my house,” Horvath said.
Horvath said he chased a person, and during the chase, he pulled his gun from its holster and fired a round into the air as a warning shot. The person then turned around with his hands up, Horvath said. Horvath said he then called 911 while holding the person at gunpoint.
Horvath does have a concealed-weapon permit.
Horvath said he asked the person what he was doing, and at first, the person lied, then admitted he had been committing burglaries. That person was taken later to the Martin P. Joyce Juvenile Justice Center.
When police arrived that night, Horvath was not taken into custody. He said officers took his gun, but then they gave it back before they left. They did, however, give him a citation.
Gardner told Judge Kobly that his client was justified in firing the shot. He said state law allows for someone making a citizens arrest in the case of a felony and using force if necessary. Gardner said Horvath had reasonable cause to suspect someone was breaking into his house because of the hour and the other break-ins in the neighborhood.
“In this situation, he went by the book,” Gardner said.
Assistant City Prosecutor Jeffrey Moliterno said he appreciated Horvath’s zeal in catching the suspect, but he added that the city ordinance is quite clear about the exceptions for discharging a firearm, and that is self-defense. Moliterno said Horvath admitted firing the shot, and he never claimed self-defense. The fact that he felt his house may be broken into did not justify firing a weapon, Moliterno said.