CANTON, New York (WWNY) – A town of DeKalb man who pleaded guilty to shooting and killing another man was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
The sentence for 52-year-old Charles Anson was handed down in St. Lawrence County Court Tuesday by Judge Craig Carriero. It also included five years’ probation supervision after his prison term is up.
Anson pleaded guilty to manslaughter in August in the shooting death of 40-year-old Justin Massey of Rossie on the Anson family property in May of 2021.
The shooting was on May 4, 2021, at 580 County Route 18 in the town of DeKalb.
“We did get justice. However, the family feels he should have gotten more time,” said Jerome McSweeney, Massey’s brother. “When he gets to them pearly gates, he’s gonna regret every decision that he made and we don’t feel sorry for him.”
Charles Anson was indicted in June of 2021 on charges of first-degree manslaughter and second-degree murder. The murder charge was dropped when he pleaded guilty.
At the time of the plea, St. Lawrence County District Attorney Gary Pasqua said if there had been a trial, evidence would have shown that Anson shot a wounded and unarmed Massey in the back of the shoulder with a .22 caliber rifle.
In court papers shortly after the shooting, witnesses said the incident started with an argument between Massey and Anson’s son over a woman, 25-year-old Kayla Briggs.
“We hope that this sentence holds Mr. Anson accountable for what he did and we think it does that certainly, but we don’t look at it as a win, we look at it as holding him accountable for what he did and hopefully it will bring some closure to Mr. Massey’s family,” said Pasqua.
“We feel very sorry for the Massey family. Of course, we acknowledge that.” defense attorney John Hallett said, “I feel very sorry for my client’s family as well, who will now have to live without him for a number of years.”
Anson’s son, John Anson, was initially charged with second-degree murder, but that charge was later dropped.
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