Proceedings Underway In Truitt Court Case District Attorney John Muehl, above, makes his opening remarks to the jury during the opening day of the People Vs. Gabriel Truitt, now underway at the Otsego County Courthouse in Cooperstown. Truitt, seen at right, is charged with arson in the first degree and murder in the first and second degree for his alleged involvement in the fire that claimed the life of John Heller at 5 Walling Ave. in Oneonta on Dec 29,…
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Truitt Murder Trial Scheduled For Jan. 20 By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com ONEONTA – With a motion to suppress evidence rejected this morning, Gabriel Truitt, charged with the murder of John Heller after he allegedly lit his girlfriend’s Walling Avenue apartment on fire, will stand trial in Otsego County Court Jan. 20. 2020. During a hearing this morning in front of county Court Judge Brian Burns, Truitt’s lawyer Dennis Laughlin submitted motions to suppress photos and video taken…
Assistant DA: We Have Truitt On Video Green: It Shows Suspect Carrying Accelerant By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com COOPERSTOWN – Video evidence shows accused arsonist Gabriel Truitt, 33, with the accelerant found in front of Heather Engler’s apartment door in the Walling Avenue fire that killed former Oneonta firefighter John Heller, Assistant District Attorney Will Green said during this morning’s arraignment in Otsego County Court. “Video evidence shows the defendant with isopropyl alcohol going to and from the crime…
Truitt In Basement Of House Next Door To OPD Headquarters Suspect Spirited To Otsego County Jail By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com ONEONTA – Less than a week since a grand jury indicted Gabriel Truitt, 33, on first-degree murder, one count of first-degree arson, and two counts of second-degree murder in the Dec. 29 death of John Heller, 38, Oneonta Police have arrested him at 95 Main St. The two-story apartment house is right next door to the Public…
Hero May Not Have Been Target, Chief Concluding Suspect’s Brother Person Of Interest, Can’t Be Located By LIBBY CUDMORE ONEONTA –With one arrest, 100 leads and a “person of interest” who can’t be found, Oneonta Police are still piecing together what happened during the blaze that killed a man hailed as a “hero” on Saturday, Dec. 5, at 5 Walling Ave. “We’re not sure what (Terrence) Truitt was trying to do,” Police Chief Doug Brenner said of the suspect facing…
BULLETIN City Judge Bernier Sends Arson Case To Grand Jury ONEONTA – City Judge Lucy Bernier has just ruled that there is enough evidence to send the Terrence Truitt case to the Otsego County Grand Jury. Truitt, 34, was charged with felony arson after a fire at 5 Walling Avenue that killed former Oneonta firefighter John Heller.…
350 Fill Foothills’ Atrium To Salute 4 Boys’ Rescuer CHECK BACK LATER TODAY FOR FULL STORY…
Man Arrested After Car Arson ONEONTA – An Oneonta man was arrested after police and fire investigators allege he set his neighbor’s car on fire earlier this afternoon. Jonathan Delgado, 31, was arrested after the police and fire department were dispatched to the report of a vehicle fire in the area of 41 Burnside Avenue. First responders arrived at the scene to find a red 2009 Subaru Forester, belonging to a neighborhood resident, fully engulfed in flames. The Oneonta Fire…
MOTEL FIRE ‘MONKEY WRENCH’ CVS Delays Closing 3rd Time On Motel COOPERSTOWN – Fortune 100 CVS Health has delayed closing on the Cooperstown Motel property for a third time, receiving an extension until Nov. 21, Martin Tillapaugh, attorney for the Al O’Brien estate, said today. “The fire at the motel really threw a monkey wrench in the middle of everything,” said Tillapaugh, referring to the Aug. 9 suspected arson at the corner of Chestnut and Beaver streets. At the time,…
POLICE CONCLUDE: MOTEL FIRE ARSON By LIBBY CUDMORE • for www.AllOTSEGO.com COOPERSTOWN – Investigators have determined the fire that destroyed the Cooperstown Motel in the early morning hours of Tuesday, Aug. 9, was intentionally set, they announced at 1:15 p.m. today. Investigations by the state Office of Fire Prevention & Control, county Office Of Emergency Services, state Department of Financial Services and the Cooperstown Police Department determined that the fire began on the second floor of the abandoned motel. No further…