Plea bargain in case of policeman who shot his sergeant means no jail time or probation
Michael T. Rusks's attorneys said his federal and civil suits against James City County and Riverside Hospital will come next.
The former James City County policeman who shot his sergeant two years ago reached a plea bargain with prosecutors today that spares him jail time, after his victim said he did not want to appear in a trial.
Michael T. Rusk, 27, told us he and his wife, whom he met after shooting Sgt. Christopher Gibson, are expecting a baby girl in January and “I couldn’t take a chance, no matter how small, of putting her in a position to raise our child without me, or leaving my baby girl without a father. That is the ONLY reason I am taking this plea.”
Rusk accused his sergeant of trying to assault him sexually. He said he had complained to supervisors about Gibson’s behavior toward him without success. Rusk was fired after the shooting, Gibson retired.
Prosecutor Bernard J. McGhee told Judge William Shaw III that witnesses had seen Rusk and Gibson drinking in the Brickhouse Tavern the night of the shooting and said Gibson appeared to take Rusk’s hand and then get into an argument over a cell phone.
McGhee is a deputy commonwealth’s attorney in Goochland County and Shaw is a retired judge. They handled the case in Williamsburg-James City Circuit Court Monday because local prosecutors and judges recused themselves.
He said Gibson knew Rusk had trouble metabolizing alcohol because of a bout with thyroid cancer, but the men had spent the night drinking in four different bars the night of the shooting Jan 25, 2023.
After the men argued at the Brickhouse, they then moved into the parking lot behind the Green Leafe Cafe, where some grainy security footage seemed to show Gibson trying to hug Rusk, the prosecutor said. Rusk fired three shots, hitting Gibson in the chest and shoulder. Gibson, who recovered from his wounds, still has trouble raising his arm, McGhee said.
“The victim clearly did not want to testify,” McGhee testified, saying Gibson’s doctor wrote him last week asking he be excused from court.
Shaw agreed to plead down the charges against Rusk to that of unlawful wounding. He sentenced Rusk to three years in prison, then suspended the sentence without probation, saying Rusk did not need it.
The prosecutor said Rusk “has been a model citizen” since the shooting, and that the incident was the result of circumstances he said “could not happen again in Mr. Rusk’s lifetime.”
Rusk’s attorneys said they intend to file a federal lawsuit against James City County and its police department and a civil lawsuit against Riverside Hospital system for its treatment of Rusk after the shooting.
It’s Snowing!
We shot this video on Ironbound Road around noon.