ZIONSVILLE, Ind. — The man who bought a gun used in a 2019 deadly shooting on a Zionsville trail will not be going to jail.
David Meschino Jr. received a three-year sentence to probation as part of a plea agreement Jan. 21 for providing a firearm to an ineligible person. The judge gave Meschino a one-day credit for time he served in jail during his arrest.
Meschino bought the gun at Don's Guns on Lafayette Road in Indianapolis June 15, 2018. But Meschino said he bought that gun and two others on another occasion for James Hughes with Hughes' money and gave the guns to Hughes immediately after buying them.
Hughes pleaded guilty but mentally ill to the murder of Samuel Bennett. He was sentenced in September to 50 years in prison, with five years suspended, followed by two years of probation.
The murder happened April 28, 2019. Zionsville residents reported hearing gunshots around the Rail Trail near Zionsville Town Hall. Bennett had been running on the trail that morning. Police found his body near the town hall, and investigators determined the fatal shooting was a random act of violence.
DNA testing on the gun used in the murder matched Hughes'. Muddy footprints found near the gun also matched shoes belonging to Hughes.
Zionsville police matched the serial number of the handgun to the one Meschino had purchased. Court papers say Meschino believed Hughes could not purchase a gun because of a felony conviction, although Hughes had only misdemeanor convictions on his record at that time.
Meschino said Hughes needed the guns because someone had a "beef with James," according to court documents.
After Hughes' sentencing in September, Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood said he hoped the plea and sentence would help with the healing process of all those involved.