MONTICELLO – A Monticello man was sentenced in Sullivan County Court on Thursday to the maximum sentence allowable by law – 2 1/3 to seven years in state prison for illegally possessing an unloaded firearm in Monticello last year.
Daniel Ridley, 35, was convicted by a jury of possessing a Deutche Werke 7.65 mm pistol, the equivalent of a .32 ACP.
He possessed the gun during a domestic dispute on June 5, 2020.
Ridley was not entitled to possess a firearm as a result of his previous convictions for domestic violence and felony drug possession.
District Attorney Meagan Galligan’s office recommended Ridley be sentenced to the maximum legal prison term, which County Court Judge James Farrell imposed.
“This defendant’s conduct threatened the lawful exercise of Second Amendment rights in our community,” said Galligan. “Our current laws that prohibit people with histories like this defendant from possessing pistols must be enforced so that law-abiding gun ownership is not undermined.”
