Bloomington shooting victim's father says he forgives killer

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) - The father of the pizza delivery killed Friday said he was glad a suspect had been arrested , but that can only go so far.

“It’s comforting, but it will never bring back my boy,” said Ron Sarnecki, father of Adam Sarnecki, 22, who was fatally shot very early Friday morning , as he was returning from a delivery for Pizza X restaurant in Bloomington.

Monday, Bloomington Police Department arrested 21-year-old James Finney and charged him with murder in connection with the delivery driver’s shooting death.

After the arrest, as Ron Sarnecki stood on the sidewalk just outside the police department, he showed remarkable compassion toward his son’s killer, despite his visible pain of losing a son.

“I wish the peace of God for his life. I forgive you, but I can’t have my son back,” he said.

Finney became the prime suspect in the shooting after a series of crimes that were committed during the week of Halloween. According to police, Finney also shot a woman in her leg on Oct. 30 and then shot up a tobacco store on Oct. 31 using a .380-caliber gun – the same type used to shoot Sarnecki.

“He has an arrest record, and he’s done violent stuff in his past.” said Bloomington Police Chief Michael Diekhoff. “Yes, we considered him dangerous.”

Detectives found the murder weapon in a dryer vent, and they kept Finney under 24-hour surveillance.

Once confronted with all the evidence, police said, Finney admitted he pulled the trigger. He told police the night of the shooting he had broken into several vehicles. According to police, he said that when he was confronted by Sarnecki as he was doing just that, he got scared and shot the father of three in the chest.

Adam’s father did say the family hopes a confession of guilt means they doesn’t have to worry about Finney not serving time for the crime he committed.

“Someone told me the hard part is going through the court. This point, I can imagine with his admission that will not be a long and painful court proceeding,” Sarnecki said.

As the father left to prepare for a vigil for his son Monday evening, he said: “God is able to get me through this.”