Man who shot at son pleads guilty
WAYNESBURG – The Cumberland Township man accused in April of shooting at his son outside a Carmichaels area home during an argument with his family pleaded guilty last week to multiple charges, although an attempted homicide charge was dropped as part of the plea deal.
Richard M. Dousa, 54, of 875 S. Eighty-Eight Road, was sentenced to five to 10 years in state prison after pleading guilty Friday to two felony counts each of illegal possession of a firearm and aggravated assault, along with possessing a gun without a license.
He also pleaded guilty to harassment, three counts of terroristic threats and two counts each of simple assault and reckless endangerment. As part of the deal, the attempted homicide charge and one count of aggravated assault were withdrawn.
Cumberland Township police said Dousa fired one shot at his son, John, while the two men argued with each other April 3 outside a relative’s home located at 409 W. George St. near Carmichaels. The bullet went in between the legs of John Dousa, who was not injured in the incident, police said.
Richard Dousa left the scene, but was arrested minutes later near his home. Police said they found a .44-caliber revolver in his SUV.
The situation began earlier in the day when police said Dousa’s wife, Sue Ellen, texted their daughter, Amanda, informing her the couple was fighting and she wanted to leave their South Eighty-Eight Road home. Richard Dousa allegedly told his wife he was going to “hunt her down and shoot her” as the mother and daughter left the house, police wrote in court documents. He had already pointed the pistol at her earlier in the day, police said.
The mother and daughter went to the home on West George Street to “warn her family about the incident” when Richard Dousa arrived with the gun, police said. John Dousa confronted his father at the door and Richard Dousa responded by trying to punch his son before firing one shot, police said. Dousa told investigators he fired at his son to get him out of his way as he was searching for his wife, police said.
Dousa has been held in Greene County jail on $300,000 bond since his arrest in April.
He will be given credit for time served and will be sent to a State Correctional Institution facility to complete his sentence.
Greene County District Attorney Marjorie Fox said although the attempted homicide charge was withdrawn, the sentence was still significant.
“With a jury trial, we know it can go either way,” Fox said. “The circumstances for what he pleaded to were the best resolution of the case. It’s a significant case.”
Dousa’s public defender, Kimberly Ann Furmanek, was out of the office Wednesday and could not be reached for comment to discuss the plea deal.
Greene County Judge Lou Dayich also ordered Dousa to pay court costs through a payment program.