Schumer: Witness Intimidation Could Hamper Capital Region Police Investigations Into Recent Witness Tampering, Violent Crimes - Senator Pushes Legislation to Help Local Law Enforcement Protect Key Witnesses

Press Release

Today, standing at the Albany County District Attorney's office on Lodge Street, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer pushed legislation designed to help Capital Region law enforcement officials protect key witnesses who provide the police with information about crimes, help identify suspects, or testify during trials. The legislation also increases criminal penalties on those, like gangs, that seek to intimidate witnesses. In the wake of a spate of tampering and intimidation incidents in the region this past year, authorities in Albany, Schenectady and Rensselaer Counties have been left frustrated by increasing reluctance of witnesses to come forward with information -- a trend they believe is being fueled by a climate of fear created by perpetrators. To address this, the Schumer-backed State Witness Protection Act would, for the first time, make witness intimidation a federal crime, and toughen sentences for anyone who attempts to intimidate a witness, or prevents them from going to the police with important information that could help in cracking a case or chasing a lead. The legislation Schumer is backing would increase the potential maximum penalty to 30 years in prison in cases of attempted murder or physical violence against a witness, and increase the potential maximum sentence to 20 years in jail for other types of witness intimidation, like obstruction of justice. Schumer called for the swift passage of this legislation, so that local law enforcement receive all the help they need to solve crimes, find and prosecute offenders, and protect capital city and surrounding communities.

"Innocent bystanders who witness violent crimes should no longer live in fear when our law enforcement enlists their help to get criminals off the streets and behind bars," said Schumer. "That is why I'm unveiling a proposal to ensure that witness intimidation is a federal crime with harsh sentencing and penalties. Capital Region law enforcement officials have consistently gone above and beyond the call of duty to catch violent criminals, but many of the serious crimes they are investigating were witnessed by dozens of people who are not coming forward to help. In the past year, Albany authorities have been forced to issue desperate pleas to the public for information on a number of serious crimes that they believe were perpetrated in full view of witnesses and spend resources prosecuting witness intimidation and tampering suspects.

"The federal government must do its part to ensure the protection of witnesses, so prosecutors in the Capital Region can build a case with visual identification at the scenes of shootings. We can't ask the local PD to chase criminals with no leads because eyewitnesses fear for their lives. Violent assailants from the Capital Region and areas beyond should live in fear and must think twice before bullying a witness."

Schumer was joined by Albany County District Attorney David Soares, Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney, Rensselaer County District Attorney Richard McNally, Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple and Albany Police Chief Steven Krokoff, as he unveiled his plan that would beef up witness protections and allow prosecutors to build strong cases against criminals and deliver the appropriate sentences. The State Witness Protection Act, which Schumer co-sponsors with Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), aims to make witness intimidation a federal crime and strengthen penalties for those who attempt to prevent a witness from testifying in a court of law. Schumer noted that in light of a rash of violent crimes and incidents involving witness tampering and intimidation, this legislation is critical to ensuring that violent criminals receive the strong and fair sentences that they deserve.

Numerous witness tampering cases in the Capital Region are gang-related and law enforcement are seriously concerned about a gang culture of intimidating witnesses who might aid police in prosecuting crimes. In some cases, witnesses to these crimes have either failed to come forward, or have remained tight-lipped about their knowledge of a given crime. In other, more severe instances, witnesses to crimes have been murdered to keep them silent. In 2003, Christopher Drabik was shot and killed in Troy by a hired gang member in order to keep him from testifying against a local drug dealer. The inability to track down these culprits of these crimes leaves area residents in danger of being in the line of fire when the next gang-related incident occurs and witnesses fail to come forward.

Furthermore, each county District Attorney's office report a number of occasions where gang members have attended trials in the courtroom and glared at witnesses at when they take the stand and are asked to testify against or identify defendants. This creates an atmosphere in which witnesses are scared and fear for reprisal because of their actions in court and has left local authorities struggling to find witnesses willing to come forward.

Schumer highlighted a number of cases of witness intimidation, including earlier this year, a career criminal was put behind bars for a brutal rape of a young girl, but not before he had called the victim over 20 times to intimidate her from testifying against him in court. While this case resulted in a conviction, there is concern amongst area law enforcement officials that far too often witnesses are afraid to come forward and testify against their attacker in court because of fear of retribution or intimidation.

While arrests were made in some of those cases, Schumer highlighted that it is abundantly clear that witness intimidation must be harshly punished once criminals are caught, so as to deter the behavior in the future. The State Witness Protection Act is designed to remedy this problem. First, it aims to allow federal prosecutors to investigate and bring charges on witness intimidation. Specifically, it makes it a federal crime to kill or attempt to kill; use or threat of physical force; harass, intimidate or attempt to intimate; or offer anything of value to another individual, with the intent to influence, delay, or prevent the testimony of an individual in a State official proceeding. The bill would also make it a crime to cause a person to withhold testimony, to prevent communication of information of the crime to a law enforcement official or a judge, and to retaliate against a witness for their attendance or supply of information at a State proceeding. Also, the legislation would cover cases involving interstate or foreign commerce, either through communication, personal travel, or the transfer of a weapon.

Schumer noted that the State Witness Protection Act also sets tough new penalties for witness intimidation. This provides the same penalties that currently exist in federal court in the case of a killing of a witness, including the possibility of the death sentence. It also increases the maximum penalty to 30 years imprisonment, up from the current state penalty of 25 years, in the case of attempted murder or the use of physical force. The bill sets a maximum of 20 years imprisonment for other types of witness intimidation, up from no more than seven years under state law. Finally, the Schumer-backed bill would direct the United States Sentencing Commission to increase federal sentencing guidelines for obstruction of justice.

This law attempts to curb the scourge of witness intimidation that has occurred in the Capital Region. The following list details just a few examples of recent cases in which witnesses have been tampered with or local police departments need witnesses to come forward:

· Recently, Derrick Smith was indicted by the Schenectady County grand jury on a total of six felony counts of conspiracy, three related to an alleged conspiracy to kill witnesses and three to intimidate a witness. Those witnesses are part of another man's murder trial, while Cook already faces charges for his own guilty plea to first-degree manslaughter.

· In mid-September, a licensed Private Investigator was charged with witness tampering and intimidation in a high-profile civil case involving self-help group NXIVM. In this case, the private investigator threatened multiple witnesses with such things including, but not limited to, criminal arrest if they testified in the high profile case.

· On September 21, a man was convicted of raping and sodomizing a 22 year old girl whom he had contacted over 20 times in efforts to intimidate her into not testifying against him in court.

· This past spring, details came to light about a member of the Bloods gang intimidating witnesses in a case involving an execution-style murder of a bar patron. The gang member had threatened to kill witnesses.

· In summer of 2010 Shaheem Johnson killed his neighbor over a dispute involving a radio. Innocent bystanders who witnessed the manslaughter testified against Johnson and on the second night of the trial they had a brick thrown through their window and were forced to be relocated.

· In 2008, an 11 year old girl was shot by a stray bullet while she was playing on her front porch in Albany's West Hill. The shooter was 15 year old Jermayne Timmons who was intending to shoot a rival gang member. The case involved a significant amount of witness intimidation and forced police to devote significant resources and man hours to safely house and relocate cooperating eyewitnesses.

· In 2003, Christopher Drabik was murdered by a hired gang member before he could testify in court against an Albany drug dealer. Drabik was an informant helping out the Albany police and was set to testify before the drug dealer, Michael Hoffler, hired a known gang member, Michael Heckstall, to murder Drabik.

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