January 14, 2019
From David Figura, NewYorkUpstate.com
Western New York man was sentenced to one to three years in prison this morning following a 2017 hunting accident that occurred on Thanksgiving 2017 when he fatally shot and killed a neighbor who was out walking her dogs.
Thomas Jadlowski, 34, of Sherman in Chautauqua County, had previously pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide and hunting after sunset to the death of Rosie Billquist. The sentence of one year to 15 months in prison was handed down before a packed courtroom this morning by Chatauqua County Judge David Foley, according to wivb.com.
Rosemary Billquist, a 43-year-old hospital worker, hospice volunteer and marathoner, was shot by Jadlowski while walking her two yellow Labradors, Stella and Sugar, behind her home in the town of Sherman about 5:30 p.m. – 40 minutes after sunset that day.
Jadlowski, 34, told police he fired a single shot from his hunting pistol at what he thought was a deer about the length of two football fields away. He heard Billquist cry out, ran to her, and called 911. Jadlowski was applying pressure to Billquist’s wound when first responders arrived.
The woman was rushed to an Erie, Pa. hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
The following video of Jadlowski entering the courtroom prior to his sentencing appeared on wivb.com
Jadlowski was initially charged with manslaughter in the 2nd degree and hunting after legal hours. The shooting occurred well after sunset, when hunting is prohibited. Those charges carried a potential prison term of five to 15 years.
A grand jury indicted him on the charges, but they were dismissed by Foley in early 2018 when he ruled that District Attorney Patrick Swanson had erred when presenting the case because he failed to answer a question regarding a lesser charge (criminally negligent homicide).
District Attorney Patrick considered sending the case back to the grand jury. In October, Jadlowski pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide and hunting after sunset. He was immediately taken into custody and remained incarcerated in the county jail since then.
In an October interview with the Buffalo News, Billquist found comfort with Jadlowski’s guilty plea. He said then that his wife would have forgiven Jadlowski.
“That’s the kind of person she was,” he said.
Billquist has tried to keep his wife’s memory alive by holding benefits and fundraisers, for causes that he knew his wife would support, along with posting pictures and positive messages on Facebook. He has established a foundation in her name, held a Rosie Run that raised more than $20,000 and a golf tournament that raised nearly $10,000, according to wgrz.com.
This past Thanksgiving, Billquist and a friend, Matt Ehrman, dressed up as turkeys and delivered free turkey dinners and bags filled with corn, beans, mashed potatoes and homemade cookies for Love Inc. in Jamestown and the Jamestown Free Methodist Church, reported the Buffalo News.
Prior to the start of this past fall’s regular firearm season in Western New York, the husband posted a had a heartfelt message for hunters on his Facebook page.
“Before you pull that trigger, just make sure you know what’s out there,” Billquist said in a Facebook Live video he posted Friday evening before the Saturday opener. “Don’t just randomly shoot and make sure of your surroundings. Be careful. Make sure there’s no other hunters or anything around there.”
“Nothing against hunting,” he said, wearing a hat that read “Live Life.” ” I just want to make sure everybody knows to follow the laws and just be careful…. I just want everybody to be safe and I just don’t want to have another tragedy like we had last year.”
During this morning’s sentencing, Jamie Billquist did not speak in court, according to wivb.com.
“This has never been about vengeance,” the husband said around the time of Jadlowski’s plea. “That is not what Rosie would have wanted. From the beginning, I wanted the defendant to take responsibility and be held accountable. I want the next hunter who thinks about shooting after hours to think, ‘There was this guy that went to prison. I should just go home.’
Prior to the sentence being delivered, the Buffalo News reported that Jadlowski’s attorney Michael Robert Cerrie, read a statement on behalf of Jadlowski: “I would like to say that not a single day does not go by that I do not think about what I have done. I would like to send my love and prayers to Rosemary’s family. From day one, I’ve been advised by law enforcement and my attorney not to have any contact with the victim’s family. I would like to apologize for that. I should have reached out sooner. Today I would like to say that I am sorry from the bottom of my heart. I know that sorry will not fix what I have done. I just hope that someday you all can forgive me for what I have done.”