Nearly four years after his father was shot to death, Charlie Tan has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for illegally buying the gun that killed him.
Tan was sentenced after pleading guilty to three federal weapons charges, admitting to receiving a firearm with intent to commit an offense, making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm and willfully causing a federal offense. His defense team asked for no more than five years in prison, but the judge sentenced Tan to 20 of a possible 25 years.
Prosecutors had pushed for the maximum, citing Tan’s refusal to admit that he killed his father, and the family’s waiting for several days to report the shooting, during which they apparently considered fleeing to China.
Charlie Tan was tried for murder on state charges, but a judge dismissed the murder charge after a hung jury caused a mistrial.
In federal court in Syracuse, Tan apologized and said he took responsibility for his actions, but again did not admit to firing the four shots that killed his father.