Tarrytown Gun Enthusiast Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter
Eric Gaulin, 26, of 157 West Main Street, Tarrytown, pled guilty in county court Friday to manslaughter in the death of his girlfriend, Megan Bookstaver, when she was shot in his home on Labor Day 2013.
On Monday, Sept.2, 2013, Gaulin, Bookstaver, and a mutual friend spend time together at the Palisades Center Mall in Rockland County. They went to the Dick’s Sporting Goods store where they purchased a Savage Arms Axis 243 caliber rifle for the victim in a pink and black camouflage color, along with a box of ammunition for a 308-caliber Winchester rifle owned by the defendant.
They all then went to the defendant’s home in Tarrytown, where the defendant took out several other rifles he had in his possession at the house.
At about 4:20 p.m. a shot rang out and Bookstaver was struck in the face by a projectile from one of the rifles. Family members in the house called 911. Tarrytown police and EMS responded but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Bail was continued at $50,000 cash or bond. Sentencing will be on January 27, 2015.
Gaulin faces a maximum sentence of five to 15 years in prison.
Assistant District Attorney Perry Perrone Chief of the Westchester County Homicide Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Kristina Dushaj of the Investigations Division are prosecuting the case.
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