Ulster County man convicted of manslaughter in killing of best friend
KINGSTON - An Ulster County man was convicted of manslaughter Wednesday in the 2021 shooting death of his childhood best friend, who was visiting from California at the time.
Ulster County District Attorney David Clegg said that in the non-jury trial, Ulster County Court Judge Brian Rounds found Gregory Thayer, 50, of the town of Ulster guilty of first-degree manslaughter and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, both felonies.
Thayer had been indicted by an Ulster County grand jury for second-degree murder, but Rounds' verdict found that Thayer was suffering extreme emotional disturbance at the time of the shooting. Clegg said state law only permits a conviction for first-degree manslaughter under those circumstances.
Clegg said the case included evidence that on the night of Sept. 29, 2021, Thayer was upset that his friend, Bruce Swierc, 48, was "talking trash," so he left the kitchen where the two had been hanging out, went upstairs to his bedroom and got a gun.
Thayer then returned to the kitchen and shot Swierc in the back of the head while he was sitting at the kitchen table. Thayer then called his sister, rather than 911 or the police, Clegg said.
Swierc, who lived in California with his wife and family, was visiting the Hudson Valley, where he had grown up, to console his mother, a Rhinebeck resident who had recently lost her partner a few months after losing her sister.
Swierc had planned to spend a few more days visiting relatives and Thayer, with whom he had been close since childhood, before returning to California, Clegg said.
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Robert Gottlieb, Thayer's defense lawyer, said his client plans to appeal the verdict.
"This tragedy begins with his best friend dead," Gottlieb said. "Then the tragedy continues with Gregory being convicted when the evidence is overwhelming that he suffered a psychotic break. I respect the criminal justice system and the courts. But thankfully, Gregory has the right and the ability to appeal a verdict that is inconsistent with the evidence."
Thayer is being held without bail in Ulster County Jail pending sentencing on July 21.
He faces maximum sentences of 25 years in prison for the manslaughter conviction and 15 years in prison for the weapons conviction. Clegg said the sentences could be imposed consecutively, for a total of 40 years in state prison.
Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record, Poughkeepsie Journal and The Journal News/lohud. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com or on Twitter @mikerandall845.
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Ulster County man found guilty of manslaughter in friend's death
