Service scheduled for murder victims
Suspects sent back to jail after brief court appearances
TROY, N.Y. » A memorial service will be held Saturday afternoon for the four people found dead the day after Christmas in their Lansingburgh apartment.
Meanwhile, the two men accused of murdering the two women and two children were back in court Thursday, but only for quick afternoon appearances in Troy City Court where Rensselear County District Attorney Joel Abelove used some legal maneuvering to buy more time to compile the prosecution’s case before being forced to release the alleged killers.
A property manager found the bodies of Shanta Myers, 36, two of her children, Jeremiah, 11, and Shainse, 5, and Shanta’s partner, Brandi Mells, 22, inside their basement apartment at 158 2nd Ave. about 1 p.m. Dec. 26 after responding to a call asking that he check on the tenants. Investigators believe the family was killed five days earlier, at around 9 p.m. Dec. 21, by a pair of ex- convicts, James W. White, 38, and Justin C. Mann, 24, both of Schenectady.
White and Mann were arrested last Friday and were each charged with one count of firstdegree murder and four counts of second-degree murder. They were scheduled to appear Thursday for preliminary hearings in Troy City Court, but instead were sent back to the Rensselaer County jail af- ter Abelove presented a new firstdegree murder charge against White and asked for bail only on the new charge, making a similar request for Mann to be held only for an alleged parole violation.
Troy City Court Judge Christopher Maier allowed the maneuvers — over the objection of defense attorneys Greg Cholakis, representing White as a public defender, and Joseph Ahearn, rep-
resenting Mann as a conflict defender — and set a new hearing for White for 1 p.m. Tuesday, within the 6-day window to hold such a hearing before a defendant must be freed. That window no longer applies to Mann because he is being held on the alleged parole violation, leaving Maier required only to set a preliminary hearing for White
“What you have here, plain and simple, is that [the prosecution] doesn’t want to go ahead with a public hearing,” Cholakis said in court. “You can’t hold somebody for [more than] 6 days without a felony hearing or an indictment. This is nothing more than an attempt to prevent my client from exercising his right to a felony hearing.
Abelove hurriedly declined comment as he left the courtroom, but Ahearn joined Choalkis after the appearances in criticizing Abelove’s maneuvers.
“The district attorney wasn’t prepared to move forward with the hearing, and to subvert the process in some way filed a new felony complaint that constrained the court to arraign [ White] and remand him and set the clock again for another 144 hours,” he said.
Officials said the memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Troy Middle School, where Jeremiah, better known as “J. J.,” was a student. The service will be open to the public.
Funeral services are being paid for by an anonymous donor, with money initially being raised by the Troy Boys & Girls Club through a GoFundMe page for that purpose being redirected to provide mental health services to family, friends and neighbors, as well as to pay living expenses and provide college savings for Shanta Myer’s surviving child, Isaiah, 16, who has been living with an aunt.
The GoFundMe campaign, set up in memory of Jeremiah, a longtime club member, had raised nearly $48,500 as of Thursday evening, far exceeding tis initial goal of $40,000. Dona- tions can be made at www.gofundme.com/peaceforthemyersfamily.
Funeral services are being paid for by ananonymous donor, with money initially being raised by the Troy Boys& Girls Club through a Go Fund Me page for that purpose being redirected to provide mental health services to family, friends and neighbors, as well as to pay living expenses and provide college savings for Shanta Myer’s surviving child, Isaiah, 16