Update: John Reilly sentencing, defense to appeal

On Monday, May 18, former Chester Highway Superintendent John Reilly was sentenced to 17 years in prison followed by five years of post-release for shooting 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 (depraved indifference) in the May 2, 2025, shooting of Barry on Reilly’s property.

Of note, Reilly was found not guilty of assault with intention to cause serious injury with a weapon, which meant that the attempted murder charge he was facing was no longer on the table.

Removed from his position as highway superintendent following his March conviction, Reilly faced up to 25 years in prison for the depraved indifference 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.”

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.

Pre-trial offer was 15 years in prison

Prior to trial, Hoovler’s office offered Reilly a plea deal in which he would plead guilty to the top count of assault with intention to cause serious injury with a weapon in exchange for a recommendation of 15 years in prison.

Reilly declined the offer.

“I can’t speak for my client, but the reality is that what was offered to my client prior to trial would have involved him accepting responsibility for something the jury found he was not responsible for, so under that context I don’t see regret as being the right way to look at this,” Thomas Kenniff, Reilly’s attorney, said Monday after sentencing.

Defense to appeal

Kenniff said his client’s next move will be in appellate court.

“In our appeal we will address a few things,” Kenniff said. “Specifically, we do not believe the depraved indifference count should have been presented to the jury because it allowed there to be a coercive verdict in the sense that if you don’t find that [the prosecution proved their] theory of intent, which is really what this case was based on, here is a consolation prize.”

Kenniff also cited the 17-year sentence handed down by Judge Brown.

“When the DA’s offer of a plea to the top charge was 15 years and the defendant goes to trial and is acquitted of the top charge, which in theory was attempted murder, someone who gets convicted on an indifference theory and not an intent-based theory should not receive a harsher sentence.”

Kenniff said the appeals process could take up to a year or more. Reilly will be in state prison as that process plays out.