On the early morning of July 4, 2017, in Cicero, New York, 40-year-old Christopher Ross was fatally shot by his brother-in-law, James Ball. The tragic incident occurred at Ball's home on Chinkapin Circle, where the two men had been drinking and became engaged in a heated argument that escalated into a physical fight.
Ball's wife intervened and managed to get Ross outside of the house. However, when Ball realized Ross had not left the property, he retrieved a.
22 caliber rifle and shot his brother-in-law multiple times in the upper body. Ross was transported to a hospital where he died shortly after arriving.
James Ball, who was a 55-year-old elementary school teacher in the North Syracuse Central School District at the time, was arrested and subsequently charged with second-degree murder and first-degree criminal use of a firearm. The school district expressed deep sorrow over the incident and made counseling services available to the community.
The legal proceedings that followed were complex. An initial indictment for murder was dismissed by an Onondaga County Court judge, who ruled that prosecutors had not properly instructed the grand jury on the law regarding the justifiable use of physical force in defense of a premises. Despite this, the Onondaga County District Attorney's office planned to present the case to a new grand jury.
In a turn of events to avoid a potential life sentence from a murder trial, James Ball pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter in March 2022. While the defense argued for probation and the prosecution sought a longer sentence, Ball was ultimately sentenced to 2-6 years in state prison for the death of his brother-in-law.
