BRENTWOOD — A Danville man was sentenced to 10 to 20 years for manslaughter this afternoon in the shooting death of a 20-year-old Atkinson woman.
Adam Mentus, 20, was sentenced by Judge John Lewis in Rockingham County Superior Court for mishandling a gun that he had been playing with while sitting with friends in a sport utility vehicle in Sandown on June 26, 2008, according to Rockingham County Attorney Jim Reams.
Deidre Budzyna of Atkinson died from a single gunshot wound to the back. She had been sitting in a front seat of the SUV when the gun went off.
Mentus, who was convicted in October, will serve his sentence in New Hampshire State Prison. Defense lawyers have argued the shooting was accidental and likely caused by a shoddy brand of .380-caliber handgun.
