Western shooting one charge lighter

By Jeanne Sager
MONTICELLO — When Callicoon restaurateur Joe Naughton returns to court later this month, he’ll be facing a lighter raft of charges.
A grand jury indicted Naughton on four separate charges after the April 13 shooting death of a waitress at the Callicoon resident’s restaurant.
The fourth, criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor, was thrown out by Sullivan County Court Judge Burton Ledina last month.
According to documents filed with the Sullivan County Court Clerk’s office, the grand jury did not receive proper instruction to make a determination of whether the possession charge was applicable to Naughton’s case.
The weapon in question was not involved in the shooting, but the pistol was uncovered during the investigation.
Naughton was being charged for possessing the gun without a permit, but court documents reveal the grand jury was not presented with proper instructions to make a legal determination as to whether possession without a permit was illegal.
District Attorney Steve Lungen was not available to shed further light on the next step of the process – a call to his office revealed he’s on vacation.
Naughton will return to court on Nov. 20.
Among the charges he will face are felony counts of criminally negligent homicide and manslaughter in the second degree. Another weapons charge, related to the gun allegedly used to kill waitress Lori Schubeler, still stands.