ITHACA, N.Y. — A man from Maine who was staying at the Econo Lodge in Ithaca is facing charges after allegedly shooting off an airsoft gun in a hotel room. He was also found to be in possession of a Molotov cocktail, according to the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office.
The Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of shots fired at about 2:13 a.m. Friday, Jan. 25 at the Econo Lodge at 2303 N. Triphammer Road in Ithaca, according to the Tompkins County Dispatch Center. When they arrived, they found bullet holes in a room at the hotel. Deputies identified 48-year-old Paul M. Coughlin Jr., of Kennebunk, Maine, as the suspect. Coughlin was found to be in possession of an airsoft rifle and Molotov cocktail.
Coughlin was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a felony, and second-degree reckless endangerment.
Coughlin was arraigned in the Town of Dryden Court by Judge Clauson and remanded to Tompkins County Jail in lieu of $5,000 cash or $10,000 bond.