Seawolf
August 15th, 2004, 01:01
Worker With Rifle Subdued
Faced Off With Boss Who Suspended Him
August 14, 2004
By RACHEL GOTTLIEB, And TINA A. BROWN Courant Staff Writers
Peter Soucy was not afraid Friday when he confronted an electrician he had suspended earlier in the week for drinking on the job.
The Hartford school district electrician, Gary Gauthier, showed up unexpectedly and was pleading for his job outside their office. With his prospects not looking good after a few minutes of talking with his boss, Gauthier made his way to a black plastic bag, saying he had written a letter to Soucy to explain his position.
"He said, `I have something for you here,'" Soucy said.
What Gauthier pulled out, police said, was a large, black assault rifle.
Soucy flew into action. In seconds, he crossed the 8 to 10 feet that separated the men, shouting for help as he ran toward Gauthier.
"I tackled him right to the ground," Soucy said. "He went down pretty hard."
More employees ran to Soucy's assistance.
"We made sure he didn't get up," said grounds supervisor Richard Deschenes, who called 911 as he ran.
Within an hour, Soucy would be giving thanks that he was still alive and Gauthier would be on his way to the police lockup, accused of threatening his boss with a loaded Colt AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifle. Gauthier, 53, of Wethersfield, had filed off the serial number, police said. The weapon was loaded, with 30 rounds in the clip and one in the chamber, and Gauthier had more ammunition in his pocket and his truck, police said.
"I need to go home and kiss my wife and hug the dog," Soucy said.
The morning's events started at 7:15 when Deschenes was heading into the woods to clear out equipment behind the district's buildings and grounds department at 388 Wethersfield Ave. Deschenes said he was startled to find Gauthier there, urinating and drinking a Busch beer behind a Dumpster.
"He jumped up and said, `Oh, you caught me,'" Deschenes said.
As Deschenes and Soucy, mechanics supervisor for the school district, remember events, Deschenes told Gauthier he was not allowed on school grounds and ordered him to leave.
Gauthier would not go, though. He insisted on talking to Soucy, who had suspended Gauthier without pay earlier in the week for being intoxicated on the job. Gauthier was worried he would be fired after his hearing Monday.
Deschenes called Soucy outside. As the men spoke to Gauthier in the wooded area, they said, it became clear to them that he was intoxicated and they offered to drive him home.
Gauthier did not want a ride. He wanted to talk to Soucy alone. Deschenes resisted leaving them alone, but Soucy gave the OK for Deschenes to back off.
A couple of other buildings and grounds employees joined Deschenes at a distance from the two men.
"He kept asking me, `Am I going to lose my job?'" Soucy said. Soucy would not give him an answer.
It was then that the gun came out, Soucy said.
Superintendent of Schools Robert Henry said that Gauthier had been caught intoxicated on the job more than once. "He was on a last-chance agreement with us."
Surveying the scene hours later, Al Hinds, chief of building operations, pointed to a steep embankment near the Dumpster and said Gauthier climbed up it so he would not be seen entering the property from the front.
"He was filthy," he said.
People who know him best say Gauthier, a former Marine who served in Vietnam, is meticulous and compulsive, traits that could be seen in the condition he kept his white ranch and perfectly manicured lawn in Wethersfield.
A standout theme at Gauthier's house was the many flags that dotted his front yard. There were two American flags. A Connecticut state flag. A POW flag. A U.S. Marine Corps flag. And another American flag hung in his garage. In his backyard, where he feeds the birds and the squirrels, Gauthier's picnic table was painted red, white and blue.
His patriotism was not something that should be overblown, said a friend who answered the door at Gauthier's house Friday. "Whatever he did, he did it and he did it a lot. When he put up lights, there were lots of lights. If he put up flags, there were [lots of] flags."
And when he drank, his friend said, he drank a lot. Records show Gauthier had two convictions for drunken driving.
But Gauthier, a marksman who grew up in Wolcott, was not a gun collector and did not own the semiautomatic rifle, said the friend, who asked not to be identified. The AR-15 has been banned for private ownership in the state and the nation for years.
Wethersfield Lt. Kevin Dillon said police found three shell casings in Gauthier's basement, and police believe Gauthier recently had fired rounds from the rifle he took to Hartford Friday.
Gauthier's friend said he did not hear gunfire in the basement.
On Thursday night, the friend said, Gauthier did not show any obvious signs that he was having trouble at work. His friend thought he was on vacation.
Asked if anything in particular was troubling Gauthier or if he was ranting about politics or work, his friend said he did not notice anything out of the ordinary. His ex-wife and son died recently, "but that didn't seem to bother him," his friend said.
His friend said he went to bed Thursday night never suspecting that when he woke up, he would learn Gauthier was charged with such serious crimes or that he would be asked to open the door for the Wethersfield and Hartford police to search.
When Gauthier called him on Friday after the incident, his friend said, he got the impression that Gauthier did not recognize the magnitude of the allegations. "I messed up," Gauthier told his friend.
Gauthier, who was jailed with bail set at $750,000, was charged with possession of an assault weapon, possession of a weapon on school grounds, altering a serial number on a weapon, second-degree threatening, second-degree breach of peace, first-degree trespassing and loitering on school grounds, said Hartford police, who were displaying a photo of Gauthier's gun on their website Friday.
The Hartford police and federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents are investigating the incident, said Hartford police spokeswoman Nancy Mulroy.
http://www.ctnow.com/hc-guntowork0814.artaug14,0,75823.story
Faced Off With Boss Who Suspended Him
August 14, 2004
By RACHEL GOTTLIEB, And TINA A. BROWN Courant Staff Writers
Peter Soucy was not afraid Friday when he confronted an electrician he had suspended earlier in the week for drinking on the job.
The Hartford school district electrician, Gary Gauthier, showed up unexpectedly and was pleading for his job outside their office. With his prospects not looking good after a few minutes of talking with his boss, Gauthier made his way to a black plastic bag, saying he had written a letter to Soucy to explain his position.
"He said, `I have something for you here,'" Soucy said.
What Gauthier pulled out, police said, was a large, black assault rifle.
Soucy flew into action. In seconds, he crossed the 8 to 10 feet that separated the men, shouting for help as he ran toward Gauthier.
"I tackled him right to the ground," Soucy said. "He went down pretty hard."
More employees ran to Soucy's assistance.
"We made sure he didn't get up," said grounds supervisor Richard Deschenes, who called 911 as he ran.
Within an hour, Soucy would be giving thanks that he was still alive and Gauthier would be on his way to the police lockup, accused of threatening his boss with a loaded Colt AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifle. Gauthier, 53, of Wethersfield, had filed off the serial number, police said. The weapon was loaded, with 30 rounds in the clip and one in the chamber, and Gauthier had more ammunition in his pocket and his truck, police said.
"I need to go home and kiss my wife and hug the dog," Soucy said.
The morning's events started at 7:15 when Deschenes was heading into the woods to clear out equipment behind the district's buildings and grounds department at 388 Wethersfield Ave. Deschenes said he was startled to find Gauthier there, urinating and drinking a Busch beer behind a Dumpster.
"He jumped up and said, `Oh, you caught me,'" Deschenes said.
As Deschenes and Soucy, mechanics supervisor for the school district, remember events, Deschenes told Gauthier he was not allowed on school grounds and ordered him to leave.
Gauthier would not go, though. He insisted on talking to Soucy, who had suspended Gauthier without pay earlier in the week for being intoxicated on the job. Gauthier was worried he would be fired after his hearing Monday.
Deschenes called Soucy outside. As the men spoke to Gauthier in the wooded area, they said, it became clear to them that he was intoxicated and they offered to drive him home.
Gauthier did not want a ride. He wanted to talk to Soucy alone. Deschenes resisted leaving them alone, but Soucy gave the OK for Deschenes to back off.
A couple of other buildings and grounds employees joined Deschenes at a distance from the two men.
"He kept asking me, `Am I going to lose my job?'" Soucy said. Soucy would not give him an answer.
It was then that the gun came out, Soucy said.
Superintendent of Schools Robert Henry said that Gauthier had been caught intoxicated on the job more than once. "He was on a last-chance agreement with us."
Surveying the scene hours later, Al Hinds, chief of building operations, pointed to a steep embankment near the Dumpster and said Gauthier climbed up it so he would not be seen entering the property from the front.
"He was filthy," he said.
People who know him best say Gauthier, a former Marine who served in Vietnam, is meticulous and compulsive, traits that could be seen in the condition he kept his white ranch and perfectly manicured lawn in Wethersfield.
A standout theme at Gauthier's house was the many flags that dotted his front yard. There were two American flags. A Connecticut state flag. A POW flag. A U.S. Marine Corps flag. And another American flag hung in his garage. In his backyard, where he feeds the birds and the squirrels, Gauthier's picnic table was painted red, white and blue.
His patriotism was not something that should be overblown, said a friend who answered the door at Gauthier's house Friday. "Whatever he did, he did it and he did it a lot. When he put up lights, there were lots of lights. If he put up flags, there were [lots of] flags."
And when he drank, his friend said, he drank a lot. Records show Gauthier had two convictions for drunken driving.
But Gauthier, a marksman who grew up in Wolcott, was not a gun collector and did not own the semiautomatic rifle, said the friend, who asked not to be identified. The AR-15 has been banned for private ownership in the state and the nation for years.
Wethersfield Lt. Kevin Dillon said police found three shell casings in Gauthier's basement, and police believe Gauthier recently had fired rounds from the rifle he took to Hartford Friday.
Gauthier's friend said he did not hear gunfire in the basement.
On Thursday night, the friend said, Gauthier did not show any obvious signs that he was having trouble at work. His friend thought he was on vacation.
Asked if anything in particular was troubling Gauthier or if he was ranting about politics or work, his friend said he did not notice anything out of the ordinary. His ex-wife and son died recently, "but that didn't seem to bother him," his friend said.
His friend said he went to bed Thursday night never suspecting that when he woke up, he would learn Gauthier was charged with such serious crimes or that he would be asked to open the door for the Wethersfield and Hartford police to search.
When Gauthier called him on Friday after the incident, his friend said, he got the impression that Gauthier did not recognize the magnitude of the allegations. "I messed up," Gauthier told his friend.
Gauthier, who was jailed with bail set at $750,000, was charged with possession of an assault weapon, possession of a weapon on school grounds, altering a serial number on a weapon, second-degree threatening, second-degree breach of peace, first-degree trespassing and loitering on school grounds, said Hartford police, who were displaying a photo of Gauthier's gun on their website Friday.
The Hartford police and federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents are investigating the incident, said Hartford police spokeswoman Nancy Mulroy.
http://www.ctnow.com/hc-guntowork0814.artaug14,0,75823.story