In the early hours of a September morning in 2015, a dispute between two former business associates escalated to a fatal conclusion on a quiet residential street in Baldwin, New York. Winfield Gillespie, a 39-year-old male from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, was found with a single gunshot wound outside a home on Woodoak Drive just before 1 a.m. on Saturday, September 5th. He was quickly transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead hours later.
The father of three had traveled to the home of his ex-associate to discuss a business transaction.
The investigation into the shooting led police to arrest the homeowner, Nathan Barnwell, who was 45 years old at the time. Authorities reported that an argument between Gillespie and Barnwell preceded the shooting. Following the incident, Barnwell allegedly hid the firearm, leading to an additional charge of tampering with physical evidence. His attorney would later claim that Gillespie had brought the gun to the residence and it discharged during a struggle, and that his client panicked and hid the weapon.
Barnwell was charged with first-degree manslaughter and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. In October 2017, he pleaded guilty to the top charge of first-degree manslaughter. At his sentencing in January 2018, Barnwell apologized to Gillespie's family, expressing remorse for his actions. He was subsequently sentenced to nine years in prison. The prosecutor in the case noted that the tragedy was the result of a 'petty disagreement combined with access to a loaded handgun.'
