Onetime Iron Range cop and chaplain sentenced to probation for off-duty shooting incident

A onetime Iron Range police officer and chaplain has been sentenced to supervised probation for confronting a deer hunter and firing a shot into the ground while off-duty.

Kevin P. Greene, 49, was sentenced Monday in St. Louis County District Court to three years' probation after a jury convicted him of reckless discharge of a firearm, a felony, in connection with the incident on Sept. 23, 2020, next to Greene's home in Aurora, Minn. Jurors acquitted him of the other felony count, threats of violence.

The sentence from Judge Robert Friday bans Greene from possessing any firearms during his probation, requires that he undergo chemical dependency treatment and includes fines and fees totaling $485.

The archery hunter, 52-year-old Thomas Carvelli Jr., said in an interview that the bullet came "within a few feet of my feet. It was very, very scary."

Along with being a police officer, Greene was on the roster of the St. Louis County Law Enforcement Chaplaincy for about eight years.

Defense attorney Stephen Foertsch wrote in a court filing before sentencing that Carvelli was "a contributing aggressor in the encounter" before Greene fired.

"The fact that Mr. Greene intentionally avoided hurting Mr. Carvelli when he fired his weapon, and the fact that Mr. Greene was the only party injured during this altercation mitigate Mr. Greene's culpability," he wrote. "Even when attacked and vulnerable to further bodily harm or worse, Mr. Greene showed restraint and fired his weapon into the ground."

Carvelli, who lives near Eveleth and grew up in Gilbert, called 911 and said he parked his car intending to go on state property and participate in Aurora's city deer hunt.

Greene confronted Carvelli and grabbed him by the neck. Carvelli then pushed Greene, who fired his off-duty handgun into the ground.