BELLEFONTE — A Milesburg man will spend at least two years in state prison after being sentenced Thursday in the accidental shooting of his girlfriend while hunting at night.
Troy Tierney, 25, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in May. Judge Pamela Ruest handed out the maximum sentence for the crime — two-and-a-half to five years in state prison. Tierney also must pay a $1,000 fine for game law violations.
“Life was lost. A very young woman has a family now that visits her at a gravesite, and that will never change,” said District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller. “Based upon the gravity of the offense and the effect upon the victims, we thought that was an appropriate sentence and the judge agreed.”
In 2009, Tierney and 21-year-old Racheal Perryman were poaching deer after dark in the woods off state Route 504 in Union Township when they became separated and Tierney shot Perryman.
Tierney told police he shot at a moving object in the woods and didn’t know it was Perryman. He was on multiple prescription
medications at the time and police reported him to be stumbling and talking with slurred speech at the crime scene.
Attorney Charles Kroboth, who represented Tierney, said he was frustrated in his push for a sentence of in-home detention.
“I thought it would be more appropriate because of his mental health concerns. The counseling
he already has in place will be disrupted, and I don’t think he will get the same type of care in state prison,” Kroboth said.
Kroboth said the manslaughter charge signifies the prosecution’s inability to prove malice or intent in Tierney’s actions.
Tierney’s open guilty plea, which avoided a trial, was an attempt to extract leniency from the judge, Kroboth said.
“Each side got to make their arguments, and the court had to make a decision, and (Ruest) did,” Kroboth said.
More than 20 members of the Perryman family filled the courtroom Thursday, and several of Tierney’s family members were also present.
Sue Perryman, the mother of the victim, said the sentence “was what we were hoping for.”
“It was great he was sentenced to state time. We thought it was deserved,” she said.
Sue Perryman said Tierney being sent to jail helped alleviate some of the pain of losing her daughter.
“I’m glad he got what he got,” she said. “It ain’t something you can ever put behind you, but I feel a little bit better with this sentencing.”
Cliff White can be reached at 235-3928.
