State prison ordered in stand off incident
A Butler man found guilty in a December jury trial of pointing a semi-automatic rifle at police who were responding to a burglar alarm during at a homoe in April 2017 was sentenced to state prison on Wednesday.
Richard W. Gniewkowski, 53, was sentenced to 21 to 42 months in a state correctional facility by Butler County Judge William Shaffer. He was also ordered to pay court costs.
The sentence came after much discussion regarding Gniewkowski's previous criminal history, which Shaffer determined includes several misdemeanor convictions following the review of a certified FBI criminal history.
Gniewkowski was found guilty of felony aggravated assault, misdemeanor simple assault and two counts of recklessly endangering another person after a one-day jury trial on Dec. 12. The jury also acquitted Gniewkowski on counts of felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor simple assault. Shaffer then found him not guilty of two summary counts of disorderly conduct.
Gniewkowski explained that the incident was a misunderstanding, as he was fearful for his life from a previous threat from his daughter, who told him she was sending people after him.
He said when police activated their lights, he was relieved.
“I said out loud 'thank God it's the police,'” he said. “I would never point a gun at a person, let alone an officer.”
Read more about the case in the Butler Eagle.
