Managing Director of Operations for Smart City Solutions (SCS) Semion Mosheshvili aka Simon Mosheshvili is facing criminal charges after a gun he was handling went off injuring a 10-year-old in the shoulder.
Mosheshvili, 42, of Hewlett, New York, on Sunday pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm, first degree reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child.
Online media outlet Staten Island Live (Silive.com) reported that the incident occurred around 7 pm on Saturday when Mosheshvili, who was visiting with the homeowners at 426 Deisius Street, Prince’s Bay, allegedly began handling a firearm on the second floor.
The gun went off and the report added that the 9 mm bullet pierced multiple walls, then the first-floor ceiling before entering the shoulder of the 10-year-old boy.
Also present at the time of the incident were Mosheshvili’s five children and his wife. His attorney Arthur Gershfeld told the court that it was Mrs Mosheshvili who rushed the victim to the hospital.
This piece of information was supplied as proof that her husband, who according to reports initially fled the scene, was not a flight risk. He later turned himself over to the police at the 123rd Precinct in the Tottenville section of Staten Island just after midnight on June 18.
Gershfeld also maintained that his client did not know that the weapon which belonged to a woman who lives at the house was loaded. “They’re not ruthless people,” he was quoted as saying.
Prosecutors requested $20,000 bail, based on reports he fled the scene before police arrived. But after hearing both sides, Judge Raymond Rodriguez set bail at $10,000 bond or $5,000 cash, the online report said.
Mosheshvili’s wife was in attendance at his arraignment and paid for his release. He is due back in court on September 14.
SCS is currently engaged in the highly controversial Georgetown Metered Parking Project. The company, which was registered mere days before it signed a then 49 now 20-year contract with the Mayor and City Council has had its operations suspended, to make way for consultations and a renegotiation of its contract.
The project, which became operational on January 24, 2017, grants SCS 80% of its gross earnings from paid parking in all zones of the capital city. Since its implementation there has been a sustained objection to both the project and the company with the Movement Against Parking Meters having held weeks of mass protest. These protests spurred central government to suspend the bylaws which empower the project for three months beginning March 17, 2017.
