Incident remains under investigation; apparent neighbor dispute
As his office investigates the July 6 shooting in Cornwall, District Attorney David Hoovler has made a special request.
“If anyone knows about the keys,” he said in a recent email to the Cornwall Local, “please contact the district attorney’s office at 845-291-2050.”
Mr. Hoovler didn’t explain the relevance of the keys and didn’t refer to them during his press conference last week. At that time, he briefly described a confrontation between neighbors that led to the death of Erick Gilmore.
The apparent shooter was Detective Robert Fitzgerald. He’s a Cornwall resident and a member of the Ramapo Police Department. He was off duty when the shooting occurred. Det. Fitzgerald has not been charged, but he has been placed on administrative leave with pay. The district attorney revealed that a knife was found at the scene of the altercation.
“We are waiting for fingerprints, ballistic, and other forensic evidence results,” Mr. Hoovler said, “and fully expect the case to go to a grand jury sometime in the future when the court system is fully operational.”
The victim, Mr. Gilmore, was a 40-year-old Cornwall graduate, who was an avid collector and a participant in the world Tae Kwan Do Championships. He and Det. Fitzgerald were neighbors.
The detective was featured in the May 4, 2012 issue of the Cornwall Local as he was about to participate in the Police Unity Tour — a bicycle ride from northern New Jersey to Washington, D.C. The event was a fund-raiser for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Through sponsor donations, each rider collected at least $1,750 for the cause. They also purchased bracelets with the names of deceased officers and represented these people at a ceremony in the nation’s capital. Detective Fitzgerald participated on behalf of the late John Machuca and the late Robert D’Egidio of the Cornwall and Cornwall-on-Hudson Police Departments.
Detective and Mrs. Fitzgerald have three daughters, who graduated from Cornwall Central High School in 2018 and 2019.
