Quadruple homicide trial in Troy pushed back to September
TROY, N.Y. » The second man accused of having a role in a 2017 quadruple homicide in the city of Troy will begin trial later this year now.
On April 17, 2019, the defendant, James White, appeared in Rensselaer
County Court for a scheduled appearance before the Honorable Debra J.
Young.
At this appearance, cour t of f i - cials said that
White’s attorney, Steven Sharp, requested an adjournment, at his client’s request.
Officials said White requested the adjournment arguing that he has not had sufficient time to review the evidence provided by the Rensselaer County District Attorney’s Office through the formal discovery process and therefore could not adequately prepare his defense for trial.
Rensselaer County Chief ADA, Matt Hauf, did not oppose the defendant’s request. Judge Young ordered that the request be filed in writing and has set a new trial date of September 9, 2019.
The bodies of Shanta Myers, 36, her two children, Jeremiah Myers, 11, and Shanise Myers, 5, and Brandi Mells, 22, were found in a basement apartment at 158 2nd Ave. on a Tuesday afternoon by a property manager, who was responding to a call asking him to check on the tenants in that apartment.
The second man accused of having a role in the homicide, Justin Mann, of Schenectady, recently pleaded guilty in Rensselaer County Court, to four counts of second- degree murder.
Mann will be sentenced to 25 years to life on each count and those counts will run concurrently to one another.
Authorities have offered few details of their investigation, but a grand jury indictment opened in Rensselaer County Court last year claims the family was killed while Mann and White were in the process of robbing them. The indictment goes on to accuse White and Mann of possessing a stolen Xbox video game system and flatscreen television.
“We regret the impact of this delay on the families of the victims, however, wemust also recognize the legal constraints wemust adhere to in order to achieve a just result in this prosecution.” — Rensselaer County District Attorney Mary Pat Donnelly
Mann and White were each initially indicted on 17 charges, including nine counts of first- degree murder, four counts of second- degree murder, two counts of criminal possession of stolen property and one count each of first- degree robbery and first- degree burglary. The first- degree murder counts each carry a maximum sentence of life without parole, with the suspects facing two counts for each victim because prosecutors claim the murders were connected to the robbery and burglary charges; the ninth count specifically connects the murder of an unidentified victim to Mells’ death.
Police spent two days collecting evidence at the Troy apartment where the victims were found and also scoured Mann’s residence in Schenectady for information that help to shed light on the motive for the crime. Without discussing specifics, police said cellphones, cell towers and video surveillance cameras were instrumental in the arrests.
Rensselaer County District Attorney Mary Pat Donnelly said “We regret the impact of this delay on the families of the victims, however, we must also recognize the legal constraints we must adhere to in order to achieve a just result in this prosecution.”
Prior to their arrests in connection with this case, 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.