WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, Vt. (AP) - A Vermont man who pleaded guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge in a 2008 shooting death could be out of prison in 3 1/2 years.
Kyle Bolaski, 36, of Springfield, entered the plea Thursday in the shooting death of Vincent Tamburello Jr., the Valley News reported. He was sentenced to seven to 15 years in prison with credit for the time he has already served.
Bolaski was convicted of second-degree murder in 2011, but the conviction was overturned by the Vermont Supreme Court in 2014, in part because evidence regarding Tamburello’s mental health was excluded.
Bolaski claims he acted in self defense when Tamburello attacked him at a softball field.
Prosecutors said Bolaski first shot Tamburello in the leg, but that a second shot in the buttocks struck a major artery and caused him to bleed to death.
“The first shot may have been justified, but the second shot certainly wasn’t,” Windsor County State’s Attorney David Cahill said in court Thursday.
Bolaski apologized to Tamburello’s family and said he was trying to “disable a threat” when he fired the gun.
“There was an intense level of fear and anxiety that I had never experienced until that day,” Bolaski said.
Tamburello’s father, Vincent Tamburello Sr., said Bolaski “murdered my entire family,” and he planned to attend every parole hearing for Bolaski to ensure he’s not released until he serves the maximum sentence.
“My only goal now is to keep him in there as long as I can,” Tamburello said.
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