A grand jury this week indicted four people for their roles in a November shootout in downtown Saratoga Springs.
The early morning shooting in downtown Saratoga Springs on November 20th shocked city residents. Later that day, Mayor Ron Kim and Public Safety Commissioner James Montagnino released police body camera footage capturing part of the incident.
“Drop the gun! Drop the gun!”
Off-duty Rutland, Vermont sheriff’s deputy Vito Caselnova is seen on video being shot by police after authorities say he shot at a Utica man following a confrontation in the city’s nightclub district.
Caselnova appeared in court on Tuesday where he pleaded not guilty to numerous charges handed up by a grand jury, including attempted murder. On Wednesday, Saratoga County District Attorney Karen Heggen’s office announced assault charges were filed against three Utica men also involved in the incident.
Speaking with WAMC Thursday, Republican Heggen continued to blast the decision by city officials to release video footage in the investigation’s infancy.
“And yet the members of law enforcement in my office persevered and worked diligently to be able to assemble the wide-ranging and a wide array of evidence to present to a grand jury so that they, the finders of fact, were able to conduct a thorough investigation and fulfill their obligations as grand jurors in reaching conclusions and ultimately voting an indictment and voting to direct Prosecutor’s Informations to be filed as it relates to conduct of some of the people that were involved in the incident on November 20,” said Heggen.
The days and months after the shootout included a stalemate between the Democratic city officials and Republican district attorney, who sought a court-imposed gag order on city employees.
Mayor Kim, who has feuded with Heggen over the incident, often expressed his frustration with the length of the investigation.
“It's about time,” said Kim. “I'm glad that D.A. Heggen finally did do something on this case.”
Four months after the shooting, Heggen said the investigators’ pace was not unusual.
“I stand by the decision to present this case to a grand jury and not have charges be filed initially. This is the kind of case that that's appropriate for and the outcome and the result is one that was done in a way that all of the information was available to the grand jury for their consideration. If we had done this in a quick fashion that might not have been the case,” said Heggen.
Commissioner Montagnino also stands by the decision to release body and security cam video of the incident back in November.
“I'm convinced now, more than ever, that it was the right move to have released the footage as early as we did. So that the public didn't have the ability to go down the wrong path with their conclusions,” said Montagnino.
Montagnino did note the felony charge of Possession of a Firearm in a Sensitive Location as being significant in that it’s in line with a New York law passed after the Supreme Court struck down a century-old state law limiting where a concealed weapon could be carried.
Montagnino, a Democrat like Kim, has said he supports the establishment of law that would make it illegal to carry a gun while intoxicated.
Heggen said her office will pursue justice as the case moves forward.
“In this case, justice for the victims, justice for the accused and justice for our community. That's a balancing act. This case has just started in the county court. And my office and team will continue to do their jobs to reach a just and appropriate resolution, whether that's by way of plea agreements or by way of proceeding through hearings and motions and ultimately be ready for a trial,” said Heggen.
Caselnova’s attorney, Greg Teresi, did not return a call from WAMC Thursday, but did tell the Associated Press this week:
“We’re still of the opinion that he’s a victim of this case. He had the authority under New York State law to use deadly physical force when faced with deadly physical force.”
A call to the Rutland County Sheriff’s Office was not returned Thursday.
