Former Chester highway superintendent sentenced to 17 years in prison after being found guilty of assault for DoorDash driver shooting

On Monday, May 18, former Chester Highway Superintendent John Reilly was sentenced to 17 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision after he was found guilty in the shooting of DoorDash Driver Alpha Oumar Barry.

Reilly, who was sentenced in Orange County Court by Judge Craig Brown, was found guilty by an Orange County jury on March 26 of assault causing injury through risk of death in the May 2, 2025 shooting of Barry.

Reilly, who was removed from his position as highway superintendent following his conviction, faced up to 25 years in prison for the assault charge.

Reilly was also found guilty of criminal possession of a loaded firearm, reckless assault causing serious injury with a weapon, and nine counts of criminal possession of a firearm. He will serve the sentences for these charges concurrently with the 17 years for the above assault charge.

“The lengthy sentence imposed on this defendant justly reflects his depraved indifference to human life,” said District Attorney David Hoovler in a press release. “The victim is forced to live with life-altering injuries as a result of this defendant’s violent criminal actions. It is yet another example of the consequences of the use of dangerous firearms by an individual who had no business possessing a gun. I hope that the victim and his family can move on knowing that the efforts of the police and prosecutors assigned to the case achieved a degree of justice.”

Background

As alleged in documents filed and statements made in court, in the evening of May 2, 2025, an unarmed food delivery driver who was lost and whose phone battery had died walked up to Reilly’s residence in the Town of Chester with a bag of food, asking if Reilly had made the order. In response, Reilly ordered the man to leave and when the driver attempted to leave in his vehicle, Reilly emerged from his home with a shoulder holster and armed with a .45 caliber Glock pistol.

Reilly racked the gun and discharged a round into the front lawn. As the victim attempted to leave in his vehicle, Reilly shot at the vehicle. Seconds later, Reilly again aimed the gun at the car and fired.

A round pierced the vehicle and struck the victim in the lower back, causing devastating injuries.

The .45 caliber projectile was recovered from the victim’s abdomen during emergency surgery, which resulted in the removal of over two (2) feet of the victim’s small bowel.

A subsequent judicially-authorized search warrant was executed at Reilly’s residence which resulted in the recovery of .45 caliber casings in the kitchen and front lawn, the projectile from the front lawn, the shoulder holster and loaded .45 caliber Glock pistol, and seven other illegally possessed pistols from the home.

It was learned by law enforcement that while Reilly held a Federal Firearms License (FFL) in order to sell firearms, he had no New York State firearms license or pistol permit and therefore could not lawfully possess those guns in the state.