Chester official accused of shooting DoorDash driver returns to work amid calls from officials to resign

Chester Supervisor Brandon Holdridge and the town board issued a letter Wednesday denouncing the violence and calling on Reilly to step down.

Blaise Gomez

May 14, 2025, 9:44 PM

Updated 2 hr ago

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A Town of Chester official whose alleged actions have sparked national outrage after he appeared to be caught on camera shooting a lost DoorDash driver has now returned to work, prompting new calls for him to resign, according to the town supervisor.
Chester Highway Supervisor John Reilly, 48, is allegedly seen on his own surveillance camera, in video leaked to News 12, shooting at a 24-year-old DoorDash driver as the dasher tried to get away in his car at Reilly’s Chester residence.
Reilly, a federal firearms dealer, appears to be seen in the video exiting his front door while wearing a firearm holster with a gun strapped to his back. He then appears to fire three shots from a handgun while standing on his front lawn and aiming at the dasher several yards away. State police say one of the shots struck the dasher’s car and pierced him in the back.
Authorities say the victim went to other houses asking for help first and suffered serious injuries during the ordeal. News 12 obtained another exclusive video showing the dasher at a neighboring residence prior to the shooting where he’s seen with a plastic bag and cellphone in his hands and heard asking for help.
State police say they’re investigating whether the shooting was a hate crime. Reilly was arrested and is out on bail for weapons and assault charges.
“This is causing a huge distraction for the town and a safety issue for the employees, and it would be better if he resigned,” says Chester Supervisor Brandon Holdridge.
Holdridge and the town board issued a letter Wednesday denouncing the violence and calling on Reilly to step down. They noted, however, that due to New York’s Public Officers Law, they can’t legally force him to do resign since he’s an elected official.
“He believes he can still carry out the responsibilities while he’s presumed innocent. If he’s unwilling to resign, it’s going to be a conviction of a crime that will otherwise remove him from the position,” Holdridge says.
Holdridge says Reilly returned to work remotely while other Town Hall employees are fielding angry calls from all over the country.
“Things along the lines of, ‘how would you like it if we came and shot you guys in the back at town hall?’”
Holdridge says the threats are misdirected and are being reported to the police.
News 12’s calls to Reilly’s attorney for comment have not been returned.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco holds Reilly’s firearms license and is among the agencies investigating the incident, according to state police. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office says Reilly’s firearms have been seized.
The dasher is slowly recovering, according to his family.
The case is expected to go before a grand jury.