The judge sentenced Katel to a 180-day suspended jail sentence, a $1,000 fine and reporting probation for five years. She is also prohibited from leaving the county, state and country without permission, and cannot possess or own a weapon.
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Finally, the judge ordered Katel to go through mental health counseling as she continues to mourn the loss of her husband and recommended her one minor and two adult children do the same.
Subha Katel, 43, was charged on Aug. 13 with the first-degree misdemeanor charge three days after what family members called a "horrific accident," and a day after her husband, Tika Katel, died from a gunshot wound to his head.
Defense attorney Tina Barrett said the close-knit family moved to the United States after spending years in a refugee camp in Bhutan. The Katels and their three children immigrated in the 1990s and moved to Fairfield more than a year ago.
“If somebody has to go to jail, I would prefer it would be me,” said Barrett. “As a Christian, we are taught that when our brother’s load is too heavy, we should if we can carry it for him or her.”
Barrett said Katel will carry the guilt and burden of her husband’s death for the rest of her life, but the family shouldn’t lose their mother in this time while they’re still mourning their father.
“This burden is too heavy,” she said. “It is too heavy for her, and it’s too heavy for this (Bhutanese) community. I ask this court to allow this family to leave here together.”
Before sentencing was issued, Barrett explained how gun culture is non-existent in Bhutanese culture and why Subha Katel questioned if the handgun she upholstered from a cousin’s waist was real or a toy. She’s never seen or handled a real gun, only a toy gun years ago.
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She pleaded to for Campbell for leniency for her client.
Subha Katel removed a holstered handgun from the waistband of a cousin who was with other relatives visiting from Pennsylvania during the afternoon of Aug. 10, according to court and police documents.
The incident happened “in a matter of seconds” when she grabbed the gun spotted in a waistband holster of a cousin. It’s uncertain when the weapon discharged, according to police documents. The prosecution contends the trigger was pulled, but Barrett said that’s uncertain.
Fairfield Prosecutor Patrick Oelrich told the judge he didn’t think Tika Katel lost his life, but rather “I think his life was taken.”
Family members spoke with the Journal-News after Katel’s August arraignment and said the couple, who had been together for 26 years, were living the American Dream and “loved each other.” They moved to Fairfield more than a year ago and located in southwest Ohio years before that.
Campbell said this was the third case she’s tried in the past 20-plus years that’s been “the most difficult,” troublesome” and “most heart-wrenching” for her.
“But I’m entrusted by the public to have the wisdom and the wherewithal to not just do the right thing but to dispense justice,” Campbell said. After delivering Katel’s sentence, she said, “I believe that I dispensed justice today and If I’m wrong, I guess I’ll answer to a higher power. Take care of one another.”
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