Man charged in carbon monoxide deaths in Kendall rejects plea deal
Provided photo: Richard “RJ” Gilman Jr. and his mother Joan are shown together in this photo.
KENDALL – A Kendall man who was charged after a mother and her son died from carbon monoxide poisoning last April 18 has rejected a plea offer which would have kept him out of state prison.
David A. Wiley Jr., 39, of Center Road has been charged with two counts of criminally negligent homicide and two counts of reckless endangerment in the first degree following the deaths of Joan C. Gilman, 38, and her son, Richard J. Gilman Jr., 14. They lived in a duplex at 2245 Center Rd. The electricity had been shut off to the house April 16 after bills went unpaid.
Wiley lived in a separate apartment in the house. He allegedly used a generator in a closed garage, which was directly below his neighbors’ apartment. The generator ran for 17 hours and the fumes from it were 4-5 times the amount that could kill a person, Undersheriff Chris Bourke said last April.
Orleans County District Attorney Joe Cardone offered to let Wiley plead guilty to 2nd degree reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, WHEC is reporting. That would have kept Wiley out of state prison. He would face a maximum of nine months in the county jail with the plea deal.
Cardone told WHEC he will present the case to the grand jury and Wiley could again face felony homicide charges.
Wiley’s attorney, Paul Guerreri, told WHEC his client maintains his innocence and will prove it if the case goes to trial.
