Quadruple homicide suspects indicted
Schenectady men each facing 13 murder counts
TROY, N.Y. >> The two men accused in the murders of four people last month in a Lansingburgh apartment were named Friday afternoon in a grand jury indictment accusing each of charges that could send them to prison for life without parole.
James White, 36, and Justin Mann, 24, both of Schenectady, were arraigned in Rensselaer County Court less than two hours Judge Debra Young had rejected a motion by White’s lawyer to have him released from jail. The men each face 17 counts in the deaths of killing Shanta Myers, 36, two of her children, Jeremiah, 11, and Shainse, 5, and Shanta’s partner, Brandi Mells, 22.
In addition to initial charges that included one count each of first-degree murder and four counts each of second-degree murder, White and Mann also now each face eight additional counts of first-degree murder, as well as one count each of burglary and robbery and two counts each of criminal possession of stolen property. They were returned after arraignment to the Rensselaer County jail, where they’ve been held since their arrests Friday in Schenectady.
“We’re very happy the grand jury came back the eway they did,” Abelove said outside court Fri-
day. “There’s nothing good about this case. … There’s really nothing to be happy about. This is just a tragic situation.”
The victims’ bodies were found inside their basement apartment at 158 2nd Ave. on the day after Christmas by a property manager responding to a call asking that he check on the tenants. Investigators believe the family was actually killed five days earlier, at around 9 p.m. Dec. 21.
Officials have yet to comment on any details of the crime, including how the victims were killed and the motive. In filing an additional first-degree murder charge against White on Thursday, however, prosecutors argue in court papers that the additional charge was for the murder of Jeremiah Myers, better known as “J.J.,” during the commission of a robbery.
That new charge led to an appearance before Young earlier Friday afternoon, when she denied a motion by the attorney representing White to have his client freed after Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel Abelove failed to proceed with a preliminary hearing required by law to take place within 144 hours of arraignment. Such a hearing had been scheduled for Thursday, within the six-day window, but Abelove instead presented the additional murder charge, which he argued would allow him an additional six days.
Abelove admitted in court that he needed the extra time to get an indictment, saying the grand jury
In Troy City Court on Thursday and then Rensselaer County Court on Friday, White’s court-appointed public defender, Greg Cholakis, argued Abelove was violating the law by allowing his client to be released on his own recognizance on the original charges, only to be detained on the new count. Abelove did not need to make a similar move with Mann because that suspect was also being held without bail on an alleged parole violation.
According to state prison records, Mann served nearly three years on a first-degree robbery conviction in the New York City borough of Queens and was released on parole June 1, 2017. White had served about a decade in prison on a 1999 manslaughter conviction, but records indicate he was not on parole at the time of his arrest.