Photo by Eric Tichy Thomas Jadlowski walks out of Chautauqua County Court following his sentencing Monday. He will serve one to three years in prison for the Nov. 22, 2017, shooting death of his neighbor.

MAYVILLE — Thomas Jadlowski, the Sherman man who accidentally shot and killed his neighbor the day before Thanksgiving in 2017, will spend the next one to three years in state prison.

Jadlowski was sentenced Monday in Chautauqua County Court by Judge David Foley for the shooting death of Rosemary Billquist. The Sherman man pleaded guilty in October to criminally negligent homicide and hunting after hours; he had been arraigned previously on a charge of second-degree manslaughter before pleading guilty to the lesser charge.

“It is my firm belief that the world suffered a great loss on Nov. 22, 2017,” Chautauqua County District Attorney Patrick Swanson said in court. “She is and always will be missed by many.”

Billquist’s husband, Jamie, was in court Monday but did not speak.

Jadlowski, 33, told police he thought he saw a deer when he fired a single round from a high-powered hunting pistol. The shot struck Billquist in the hip as she walked her two dogs near her Armenian Road home in Sherman. Jadlowski called 911 and attempted to provide aid before firefighters with the Stanley Hose Co. in Sherman arrived.

Billquist, 43, was taken to UPMC Hamot in Erie, Pa., but was later pronounced dead.

The incident took place after sunset around 5:20 p.m., when hunting is illegal in New York. The investigation was handled by the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office and the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Jadlowski apologized in a statement through his attorney, Michael Cerrie, to the Billquist family for the pain the accidental shooting has caused them.

“I would like to say that not a single day does not go by that I do not think about what I have done,” Jadlowski wrote. “I would like to send my love and prayers to Rosemary’s family. … I’m sorry from the bottom of my heart. I know sorry cannot fix what I have done. I just hope some day you all can forgive me for what I have done.”

Billquist worked at UPMC Chautauqua hospital for 25 years and also volunteered with Chautauqua Hospice and Palliative Care. “It’s a shame,” Jamie Billquist told the OBSERVER shortly after the incident in November 2017. “She loved life and was an angel. She volunteered with the pet program and would bring pets to those in hospice.”

Before handing down his sentence, Foley called the shooting “tragic in every sense. There’s no good result that could come of this in any way.”

“Of course I could impose a sentence, and that sentence of course would not return Rosemary Billquist to her family. … It’s something they’re going to have to live with for the rest of their lives,” Foley said. “I could impose the greatest sentence possible, and it probably isn’t anything compared to the fact that you’re going to have to live with what you’ve done every day for the rest of your life.”

Billquist released a statement through the District Attorney’s Office shortly after the sentencing.

“This has never been about vengeance,” Billquist said. “That is not what Rosie would have wanted. From the beginning I wanted the defendant to take responsibility and be held accountable. I want the next hunter who thinks about shooting after hours to think, ‘There was this guy that went to prison. I should just go home.'”

Swanson praised the work done by the members of his office as well as Chautauqua County sheriff’s deputies and conservation officers. He said the plea was the result of “much consultation” with Jamie Billquist. The district attorney said while a prison sentence wouldn’t bring Billquist back, it does “bring this matter to a close.”

“My hope is that tragedy never like this will happen,” Swanson said in court. “My hope is that every hunter uses this case as a reminder of what can happen when they break the rules.”

“Guns can, and will cause harm, when used without caution and care,” the DA said later in a statement. “These tragedies are preventable. It is my sincerest hope that Mr. Jadlowski, after being released from prison makes an effort to influence future hunters with his story.”

Meanwhile, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said it was “commencing an administrative action to revoke (Jadlowski’s) sporting license” now that the criminal cases had concluded.

“Every hunting accident in New York is preventable when people follow basic hunting safety rules,” DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said. “I hope this tragedy serves as a reminder to hunters across the state to always be sure of their targets and beyond. We are grateful to the hard work of our Environmental Conservation Police Officers, Chautauqua County District Attorney Patrick Swanson and the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office to bring this case to justice.”