Homeless Man Pleads Guilty To Shooting Bridge Painter

Steven Boyd, 47, a former security guard who had apparently been living in a makeshift shelter under the Grand Central Parkway overpass in Corona, has pleaded guilty to fatally shooting a bridge painter in November 2004. The shooting had been sparked by James Gaviglia, 38, of Middle Village, asking Boyd to move his belongings so that he and his fellow crew members could paint the span under which he was living. Gaviglia had been employed by Persico Construction, Mount Vernon, New York.

In pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter, Boyd admitted that he caused Gaviglia's death by shooting him multiple times in the stomach and leg at approximately 11 a.m. on November 10, 2004, at the southeast corner of the Grand Central Parkway and 34th Avenue in Corona. Queens Supreme Court Justice Robert J. Hanophy set sentencing for June 12, at which time he indicated that he would sentence Boyd to 23 years in prison.

According to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, Boyd made inculpatory statements to police who apprehended him at the scene. Police recovered a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol and more than 30 rounds of ammunition from Boyd after the shooting.

Boyd, who underwent psychiatric evaluation and was declared unfit to stand trial a month after his November 2004 arrest, was deemed fit to stand trial by state psychiatrists during another examination in June 2005.