WILKES-BARRE — A Scranton man who accidentally shot a woman in the face with a .357-caliber magnum revolver as he was handling the weapon outside a Plains Township gas station last year was sentenced Tuesday in Luzerne County Court to up to two years in prison.
Robert William France, 30, was seated in the front passenger seat of a Chrysler 300 outside Turkey Hill on South Main Street after leaving a local bar with the victim and two others on Oct. 9, 2015. When he retrieved the handgun from the backseat, it went off and struck Sylvia Murati, who was seated behind him.
France declined to address the court Tuesday morning, but expressed regret for the incident at his arraignment in October.
“I’m so sorry this happened,” France said. “The gun was in the back seat and I was moving it. When I picked up the gun, it went off.”
He added: “I hope she is alright and I hope for the best for her.”
Murati was taken to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital and transferred to the trauma unit at Geisinger Wyoming Valley in Plains Township for treatment, police said.
Her condition at the time was unknown and prosecutors said Tuesday that their inability to locate her played a role in striking a plea agreement with France.
Judge Joseph Sklarosky Jr. accepted France’s plea on a single count of aggravated assault and sentenced him to one to two years in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility. He was given credit for 95 days time served.
According to the criminal complaint:
Geoffrey Williams told police he was at Ole Tyme Charley’s on North River Street in Plains Township with France, Murati and Candis Lazovich. Williams said he did not know Murati.
They left the tavern in France’s Chrysler 300 with Lazovich driving the vehicle. France was in the front passenger seat and Williams and Murati sat in the rear seat.
Lazovich stopped at the gasoline island outside Turkey Hill and began pumping gasoline into the vehicle. Williams claimed France was playing with a gun when it discharged a round and Williams saw blood on Murati’s face, the complaint says.
France didn’t have a license to carry the weapon, police said.
Lazovich allegedly told police she drove to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital and dropped Murati off in the emergency room. She claimed Williams was insistent on getting rid of the handgun and drove to the Oakies section of Plains Township, where he hid the gun under a bush along road between South Main Street and North Washington Street, according to the complaint.
Lazovich helped police recover the weapon, the complaint says.