Autopsy shows Cady died of self-inflicted gunshot

• David M. Cady%2C 36%2C died of a self-inflicted gunshot%2C according to an autopsy released Tuesday
• Cady barricaded himself inside his Danby home after deputies tried to serve a warrant
• Police found Cady dead inside the home at around 8 a.m. Friday
• Police encircled Hornbrook Road for about 60 hours during the standoff

The Danby man who barricaded himself in his home last week had an arsenal of weapons on hand and no intention of being taken to jail, according to the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office.

David M. Cady Jr., 36, barricaded himself inside his Hornbrook Road home on Dec. 30 after Tompkins County Sheriff's deputies tried to serve an arrest warrant around 7 p.m. For three nights and two days, law enforcement officers surrounded the home, broke through walls and used tear gas to get Cady to surrender.

Autopsy results released Tuesday show Cady died of a self-inflicted gunshot during the armed standoff, according to the sheriff's office.

The sheriff's office said it learned Cady was not willing to go to jail, and that he had been traveling to Pennsylvania to purchase ammunition in preparation for a possible standoff with police. Cady was known to possess weapons, and during the standoff, he could be seen moving throughout the house carrying a long gun, according to the sheriff's office.

He was last seen alive sometime late Thursday, the sheriff's office said.

Around 8 a.m. Friday, police found Cady dead. The time of his death has not been released by the sheriff.

Upon entering the home, the sheriff's office said, it found long guns strategically placed throughout the residence.

The preliminary autopsy was conducted Saturday at Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton.

Cady is survived by his wife, Melissa, and two sons, according to his obituary from the Kenyon Funeral Home in Westfield, Pa.

Cady and Melissa married March 22, 2008, after nine years together. He worked as an auto mechanic, and enjoyed country music and playing video games with his sons, according to the obituary. He grew up in northern Pennsylvania, where most of his family still resides, according to the obituary.

Funeral services are planned in Westfield. Family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday and 2 to 3 p.m. Friday at the Kenyon Funeral Home, 222 W. Main St. in Westfield. A funeral service is planned for 3 p.m. Friday. Burial will be in the Champlin Cemetery.

Fear of jail

Police surrounded the Cady home at 127 Hornbrook Road for more than 60 hours after Tompkins County Sheriff's deputies attempted to serve an arrest warrant on the evening of Dec. 30.

Cady's wife and two children were sent out of the home as Cady refused to surrender to a bench warrant issued in Tompkins County Court over the summer. Cady was wanted for missed court appearances related to a conviction for driving while intoxicated.

Cady was convinced he would go to jail over his arrest warrant, Tompkins County Sheriff Ken Lansing said.

The warrant stemmed from a guilty plea to a DWI charge on Dec. 18, 2013, his second such conviction. Tompkins County Judge John Rowley placed Cady on six months' interim probation pending sentencing on the felony conviction.

By the summer, Cady apparently failed to appear for some of his court appearances, and Rowley issued an arrest warrant on Aug. 26.

Lansing said deputies tried to apprehend Cady throughout the fall. He eluded law enforcement until deputies showed up on his doorstep the evening of Dec. 30.

The serving of an absconder warrant turned into an armed standoff when Cady fired a gunshot in the direction of police from a window of the home. A phalanx of law enforcement from agencies across the region descended on Hornbrook Road to root Cady out in what Lansing called an operation to protect police, the community and the suspect.

The police tactics — which Lansing defended as standard techniques to force a peaceful conclusion to a standoff — left extensive damage to the walls of the family home. Hours after the standoff, the home was condemned by Danby Code Enforcement.

Funeral Services

Family will receive friends at the Kenyon Funeral Home, 222 W. Main St. in Westfield, Pa., from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday and 2 to 3 p.m. Friday. A funeral service will be held immediately following at 3. Burial will be in the Champlin Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to Melissa Cady, 280 Mill St., Westfield, PA 16950.

To send an online condolence visit, go to kenyonfuneralhome.com.

Donations

•Donations to the family can be made out to Danby Federated Church, 1859 Danby Road, Ithaca, NY 14850. Pastor Ed Enstine said a relief fund has been established.

•Donations also can be made Friday at the church during the scheduled chicken-and-biscuit dinner from 5 to 7 p.m.

•Memorial donations also may be made to Melissa Cady, 280 Mill St., Westfield, PA 16950.

Agencies that assisted during the standoff:

•Ithaca Police Department

•Cornell University Police

•Ithaca College Public Safety

•Ithaca Fire Department

•New York State Police

•New York State Park Police

•Cayuga County Sheriff's Office

•Pennsylvania State Police

•Syracuse Police Department

•Elmira Police Department

•Broome County Sheriff's Office

•Onondaga County Sheriff's Office

•Tompkins County Office of Emergency Management

•Bangs Ambulance

•Guthrie Air

•Tompkins County Mental Health

•Danby Fire Department

•Onondaga Emergency Medical Services