BLM leader offered plea deal
District attorney offers to drop misdemeanor counts
The Saratoga County district attorney’s office has offered to drop misdemeanor charges against Black Lives Matter leader Lexis Figuereo, who was charged twice with obstruction after his appearances at City Council meetings in July.
The deal, offered to him in court Tuesday, would require him to plead guilty to a different charge, one count of disorderly conduct, a violation. That charge stemmed from a Black Lives Matter protest this summer. Police alleged Figuereo and others blocked the streets and thus endangered the health of a man who said he needed to get home to take his heart medication.
Figuereo, who was represented by attorney Mark Mishler, did not make any decisions about the offer Tuesday. Judge Francine Vero said she would consider an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, in which all charges would be dropped if Figuereo stayed out of trouble for six months. The ACOD would only be considered if the DA’S office agreed to it, Vero said.
Mishler said he and his client were not prepared to accept any plea deal Tuesday, but would consider it.
The mother of Figuereo’s children has been given an ACOD in her case. She was taken into custody on a charge outside the police station when she and others were protesting Figuereo’s charges in September.
Mishler asked — and received — a delay in the case so he could review a “voluminous” amount of video footage from the three dates referenced in Figuereo’s charges.
“I’ve reviewed quite a lot of it already but there’s more I want to review to be sure I have the right picture,” he said.
The biggest issue involves the two City Council meetings, for which Figeureo faces obstruction of governmental administration charges.
“Part of the question, and I think the DA’S office agrees this is a significant issue, has to do with how the First Amendment impacts the two obstruction of governmental administration charges,” Mishler said. “The public is invited to engage and speak. Many people on each of those days spoke out. There really are very significant First Amendment concerns and the DA’S office agrees these are important issues.”
Saratoga County District Attorney Karen Heggen said her office made the offer prior to Tuesday’s court appearance but that she couldn’t discuss it because the court granted a delay in the case.
“He’s again asked for another delay,” she said. “It’s not appropriate for me to talk about the offer. He’s asked for more time; we’re respecting that.”
Investigators for state Attorney General Letitia James are probing whether Saratoga Springs police committed civil rights violations in their arrests of the activists.