Monahan verdict came down to critical 90 seconds

SUNY Adirondack kicks off Writers Project series on Monday

Ninety seconds.

That’s how long it took to unleash this calamity in rural Hebron that left 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis dead last April 15.

Ninety seconds.

Assistant District Attorney Christian Morris was giving his closing argument Tuesday morning, setting the scene for what happened on that warm spring evening from the time the three vehicles drove up Kevin Monahan’s driveway until the second of two shots were fired.

It was two SUVs and a motorcycle.

They had made a wrong turn into the driveway off a dark road.

The A-frame house ahead of them was dark.

The SUVs got halfway up the driveway and stopped.

The motorcycle passed the two cars, drove up near the house and stalled while turning around. The rider hit the starter and revved his engine and continued away from the house.

That’s when Kevin Monahan said he woke up.

He heard the motorcycle.

He told his wife to hide.

He said there were people in the driveway.

He grabbed his shotgun, loaded it and went downstairs.

The lights went on just as the two SUV’s were halfway through a 3-point turn.

Monahan went out onto the wrap-around porch.

There was a shot.

One of the young people saw a flash of a rifle from up on the porch and said someone was shooting at them.

The two vehicles finished their turns and headed away from the house.

Five seconds later - no more - a second shot was fired as the cars were headed down the driveway. This shot pierced the back window of the Ford Explorer and Kaylin Gillis was dead in the front passenger seat.

The young people dialed 9-1-1 for help.

There was no cell phone service.

And they roared away looking for help for their dying friend.

That’s what happened in those 90 seconds.

That’s how fast it was.

One action cascading upon the next, people reacting.

“You can’t cook popcorn in 90 seconds,” Morris said.

And a young girl ended up dead.

If you read the above passage slowly, deliberately, take your time with the words and imagine each of the actions, you are reliving the events in real time. It happened that fast.

Why it happened is what the jury had to decide Tuesday.

It’s why Morris emphasized those 90 seconds, why he repeated over and over how quickly it all happened and why he wondered what Kevin Monahan was really thinking.

Perhaps, it was something more instinctual.

“He acted out of a baser emotion than that, he acted out of anger,” Morris told the jury. “That is the only thing that can be inferred from shooting at people within 90 seconds of being in your property.”

There was no time for the fear to build, there was no time for Monahan to evaluate the danger of these vehicles because he acted immediately, Morris argued.

“These vehicles were in his driveway, they were at his house, interrupting his night, and they were not leaving fast enough,” Morris said. “He grabbed his shotgun and intended to make them leave as fast as possible. And he didn’t care if they were hurt or killed, just so long as they left.”

The defense said it was fear.

The prosecution believed it was anger.

There was a shot to break the silence, to begin what Monahan said on the stand was a “dialogue.”

The vehicles were turning around.

And then - 1-2-3-4-5 - as they were driving away, a second shot rang out into a retreating vehicle.

Five seconds after the first shot, it was Kevin Monahan having the last word.

The exclamation point on those 90 seconds.

Yet, when the police arrived to question Kevin Monahan and his wife, Jinx Monahan, those 90 seconds had evaporated from their memory.

They had no recollection of the vehicles in their driveway.

They had no memory of the two gunshots.

It was as if those 90 seconds never happened.

But Christian Morris had another theory for the jury: “Why did Kevin Monahan fire a second shot? Because he missed the first time,” he said to the jury. “Why didn’t Kevin fire a third shot? Because he hit the second time, there’s no need.”

That’s what the jury decided, too.

It took them less than two hours to decide.

I suspect, they could have decided after 90 seconds.

Writers Project Series

I’m pleased to announced that I will be the opening speaker in SUNY Adirondack’s Spring 2024 Writers Project series that opens on Monday.

The Writers Project lecture is free and open to the public and anyone who has an interest in writing in any form can take part.

The lecture will take place at Scoville Learning Center, Room 206 and begin at 12:30 p.m.

The Writers Project series continues with the following events:

• Wednesday, Feb. 28: SUNY Adirondack Distinguished Professor Lâle Davidson; 12:40 p.m. in Scoville Learning Center, Room 206

• Monday, Feb. 12: Abenaki/Huron poet and author Suzanne Rancourt; 12:40 p.m. in Scoville Learning Center, Room 206

• Monday, March 25: Puerto Rican author and state Poet Laureate Willie Perdomo will present via Zoom, but attendees can gather to watch at 12:40 p.m. in Scoville Learning Center, Room 206

• Monday, April 8: Crandall Public Library’s Teen Librarian, playwright and author Frieda Toth; 12:40 p.m. in Scoville Learning Center, Room 206

• Monday, May 6: Creative Writing majors; 1 to 3 p.m. in Visual Arts Gallery, Dearlove Hall.

Theater benefit

Don’t forget Adirondack Theater Festival’s annual winter benefit on Saturday, Feb. 10 at the Wood Theater.

With a “Pep Rally” theme, ATF will kick off its 30th anniversary season with night of entertainment and revelry while also announcing its summer lineup.

General admission is $90 and for $150 you get a special admission to an after party at the Queensbury Hotel. It all includes complimentary appetizers, wine, beer and sodas as well as a silent auction.

To buy tickets, go to the Wood Theater website:

Unbeaten Glens Falls

The Glens Falls High boys basketball team is having another extraordinary season. It is unbeaten and has won 17 straight games with two games to play.

For my money, this year’s team - one through five - might be as good as any Glens Falls team in recent memories.

I’m looking forward to the playoffs.