Suspect offered deal
Guilty plea sought in Central Avenue shooting in 2021
A Colonie man charged with gunning down 39-year-old Lashon Turner on Central Avenue last year would serve 18 years to life in prison under a plea bargain offered by Albany County prosecutors on Tuesday.
Natural Wise Joseph, 34, was offered the sentence in exchange for a guilty plea to seconddegree murder. At a scheduled pretrial hearing, acting state Supreme Court Justice Roger Mcdonough told the defendant the offer was available until 1 p.m. Thursday.
The deal, offered by Assistant District Attorney David Szalda, would shave seven years off the minimum sentence for Joseph, who faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted at trial of second-degree murder.
An indictment handed up last year charged Joseph with shooting Turner on May 21, 2021, outside 71 Central Ave. It charged him with second-degree murder, felony possession of a weapon and drug possession.
Joseph has maintained his innocence at previous court appearances.
Joseph, appearing with his attorney, Assistant Public Defender Vincenzo Sofia, waived his right to a hearing to consider the plea bargain.
Turner, an Albany native and father of five, was known to friends as “Shock” and “Shocka,” according to an obituary.
Turner was killed during a spate of violence that included six homicides in May 2021 — including the killing the same day as Sharf “David” Addalim, 35, at Quail and First streets.