Hunter found dead in Quakertown

[shiloh]

A report from the Inquirer -- half-assed apology from Manilla, most interesting thing was his confirmation that he and his family are the targets of a federal grand jury. Hope that includes Marino.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/br...of_hunter.html

Lawyer gets 10 to 25 years in fatal shooting of hunter

By Larry King

Inquirer Staff Writer

Montgomery County lawyer David Manilla was sent to state prison for 10 to 25 years this afternoon for fatally shooting a Quakertown man while hunting illegally last fall in upper Bucks County.

Bucks County Court Judge Albert J. Cepparulo, calling Manilla "lucky" he wasn't charged with murder, sentenced him to 2 ½ to 5 years for involuntary manslaughter in the Nov. 29 slaying of deer hunter Barry Groh, 52, of Quakertown. It was the maximum sentence possible for the first-degree misdemeanor charges.

Cepparulo then gave Manilla, 49, an additional 7 ½ to 20 years for illegally possessing two firearms that day in Richland Township. Because of his prior record - Manilla had been convicted of aggravated assault in the 1980s - it was illegal for him to have any firearms. Despite that prohibition, Manilla continued to hunt in several states.

In 1993, he had been cited for careless hunting in Schuylkill County after an incident in which a pheasant hunter was shot in the neck with birdshot fired by Manilla or a hunting partner.

"When I am done sentencing you today, you will have touched your last firearm and you will have squeezed your last trigger,: Cepparulo told Manilla, "because you will never again possess a firearm for as long as you live."

Manilla, of Worcester Township, had pleaded no contest in May to involuntary manslaughter and guilty to the firearms offenses and some lesser hunting charges in the death of Groh, a married father of two. He changed the no-contest plea this morning to a guilty plea, explaining to Cepparulo that the no-contest plea had been designed to give the Groh family a better chance of collecting more money from one of his insurance policies.

Barry Groh's survivors are seeking damages against Manilla in a wrongful-death civil suit.

Theresa Groh, the slain hunter's widow, had urged Cepparulo to give Manilla the longest sentence possible, calling Manilla "a spoiled rich boy," and "a man who believes he can do whatever he pleases without ever truly paying for or accepting responsibility for any of his crimes."

The sentence Cepparulo gave Manilla was close to the 12 ½ to 25 year maximum allowed for his crimes.

Manilla did not react to the sentence, staying composed and jotting notes on a legal pad as his penalties were read. Earlier, he had apologized to Theresa Groh and her two adult sons.

"I know that you will never be able to forgive me," he told them, "but I am truly and heartfully sorry for my actions."

Manilla told Cepparulo that he "was clearly irresponsible" and "should not have been hunting at all."

Manilla accidentally shot Groh through the heart as Groh stood in a creek bed adjacent to property Manilla owned at the time in Richland Township. Groh died almost instantly, but Manilla and two fellow hunters waited more than 30 minutes before calling 911 and did not give full accounts of what had happened until more than a week had passed.

Among those fellow hunters was Manilla's uncle, former Montgomery County District Attorney Michael D. Marino. Marino, who was not charged with a crime, did not attend the sentencing.

Manilla told police he had mistaken Groh for a deer. Groh had just dragged a large buck he had killed to the stream, where he may have been preparing to gut it.

Attorneys and Manilla acknowledged in court today that Manilla could face additional federal firearms charges because of the dozens of weapons he had illegally stockpiled at the home he shared with his elderly mother. Manilla said he his family were the objects of a federal grand jury. Federal authorities have refused to confirm or deny the investigation.

[crlovel]

The murdering piece of shit got off too lightly.

[Rosco the Iroc]

The murdering piece of shit got off too lightly.

WHAT ^ HE SAID!!!!!

Oh now he pleads gulity. What a sorry piece of shit.

[ByblosHex]

Manilla accidentally shot Groh through the heart as Groh stood in a creek bed adjacent to property Manilla owned at the time in Richland Township. Groh died almost instantly, but Manilla and two fellow hunters waited more than 30 minutes before calling 911 and did not give full accounts of what had happened until more than a week had passed.

How much of an affect did this have on the verdict?

[theo]

The murdering piece of shit got off too lightly.

I hope he does the 25 years, but that ain't going to happen.

It came out in the trial that he also shot near someone in that person's property (Manilla was tresspassing) that same morning. When he spoke, he blamed every body but himself. He even blamed Marino, another scumbag, as not being a good mentor.


.

[kadar]

http://www.phillyburbs.com/my_town/q...95d7e8962.html

Convicted lawyer is appealing

Less than a month after he was sentenced to 10 to 25 years in a state prison for killing a Quakertown deer hunter, Montgomery County attorney David Manilla is challenging his conviction.

Manilla, 49, of Worcester filed a notice of appeal this week with the state Superior Court. The notice does not say on what issues Manilla is appealing, and his new attorney isn't talking.

"I don't litigate cases in the press," Philadelphia lawyer Norris Gelman said.

Prosecutors scoffed at the appeal.

"At first, I thought it was a joke. Then I saw the notice," said deputy district attorney Robert James. "There are absolutely no legal grounds for him to appeal."

Manilla was sentenced on July 10 in Bucks County Court in Doylestown, one month after he pleaded no-contest to shooting Barry Groh, 52, while Manilla was hunting illegally on land he owned in Richland Township. Just before sentencing, he changed his plea to guilty.

Groh, a married father of two, was shot in the heart on Nov. 29, the first day of deer season. Manilla would later admit that he was hunting with a high-powered rifle — a weapon that's illegal for hunting in densely populated Bucks County — and that he tried to destroy evidence at the crime scene.

A convicted felon who once served time for cracking a man's skull with a barbell, Manilla was banned from owning firearms yet amassed a small arsenal of hunting guns. During the investigation into Groh's killing, prosecutors learned that Manilla had hidden more than 60 guns at his girlfriend's home after the incident, and he had ordered his handyman to hide an entire duffel bag full of ammunition from police.

Manilla's guns, and how he was able to buy them with his criminal record, are being probed by a federal grand jury.

A pending wrongful death suit in the case is also working its way through Bucks County Court.

In addition to involuntary manslaughter, he pleaded guilty to weapons offenses and numerous hunting violations.

As part of the sentence, Bucks County Judge Albert Cepparulo ordered Manilla to undergo a mental health evaluation. He was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine, as well as $4,600 in restitution, to cover the cost of Groh's funeral.

Manilla had asked to be permitted to serve his time at Laurel Highlands, a minimum security prison with a mostly geriatric population in western Pennsylvania. The State Department of Corrections' online inmate locator service shows that he's in Graterford, in Montgomery County, which means he's likely still being classified, a process in which prison officials determine which facility best suits an inmate's needs.

James said that a more detailed appeal petition will be filed in the next month, and should lay out the reasons Manilla is challenging his sentence.

He said he'll fight the appeal "vigorously."

I do think he is nuts.

[theo]

I do think he is nuts.

Do you expect anything different from a former attorney?


.

[Rosco the Iroc]

he filed a WHAT?!

What a piece of shit

WHAT ^ HE SAID!!!!!

Oh now he pleads gulity. What a sorry piece of shit.

Sorry I had to make it clear.