Troy shooter gets 17 years in prison
Man fired handgun down alleyway, striking unintended victim
TROY, N.Y. >> A 33-year- old Troy man will spend the next 17 years in prison after shooting an unintended victim in a city alleyway last year.
On August 23, 2017, Jamel DeWitt, fired a 9mmhandgun down an alleyway between Church Street and Ferry Street striking 23-year- old Joshua Goldberg in the abdomen. DeWitt was identified by Troy Police as the suspect and was swiftly apprehended during their investigation.
Police said they found the victim in the back of a pickup truck in the alleyway. He was transported to Albany Medical Center in grave condition.
DeWitt previously pleaded guilty to a felony count of firstdegree criminal use of a firearm for the shooting.
DeWitt was sentenced in Renssealer County Supreme Court Wednesday by Judge Andrew Ceresia as a second felony violent offender, because of previous convictions. He was also sentenced to five-years post release supervision. A full- order of protection was granted to the Goldberg family. Since the shooting, Joshua Goldberg has had 5 operations,
according to his mother, Frances Goldberg, who read a victim impact statement in court Wednesday.
“I’ve never felt so distant, distraught and nervous, I was very frightened,” she said during part of her statement as she was talking about seeing her son in the hospital the night of the shooting. “I desperately wanted a doctor to reassure us that our son would live and recover from his injuries and that everything would turn out just fine... it was an extremely difficult
time for [our family].”
Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel Abelove said he was pleased with the sentence.
“This repeat violent felon will thankfully be off of our streets for a long
time. Thankfully, his victim has improved greatly, and thanks to the diligent efforts of the Troy Police this defendant has been held accountable for his heinous actions,” Abelove said.
Assistant District At-
torneys Andrew T. Botts Cheryl A. McDermott prosecuted the case.
DeWitt and his defense attorney chose not to make any statements during the hearing.