The attorney for a Wilton man who police say left his handgun and ammunition where his son found it and used it to kill another child wants charges against the man dismissed.
Edward J. O’Rourke Jr. of Birchwood Drive was charged with a misdemeanor count of endangering the welfare of a child last December after his son and his son’s friend, Nicholas Naumkin, found the man’s 9 mm handgun and ammunition buried under clothing in a bedroom dresser drawer.
The boys were playing with the gun, police said, when the son accidentally shot 12-year-old Naumkin in the head. The Naumkin boy died from the wound late on Dec. 22 at Albany Medical Center Hospital.
Attorney Jeffrey Bagnoli of Mechanicville has filed motion papers in Saratoga Springs City Court asking the court to dismiss the charge against his 57-year-old client, saying the evidence is “insufficient on its face” in that “each and every element of the offense charged is not supported by a non-hearsay allegation contained in the information.”
Filing a motion to dismiss a charge is routine procedure when pretrial motions are made in such cases, according to court officials.
City Court Judge Jeffrey Wait said Wednesday he has given the Saratoga County District Attorney’s office until Sept. 13 to answer the Bagnoli’s motions. Wait would not discuss the case or the motions filed with the court.
The case originally was heard in Wilton Town Court but both town justices in that court recused themselves from the case and it was transferred to Saratoga Springs City Court.
Bagnoli said Wednesday that he would not discuss his omnibus motion filed with City Court. He did say, however, that the O’Rourke case appeared to be heading toward a trial.
The boy, now 13, is facing a two-count petition in Saratoga County Family Court in Ballston Spa. The petition charges him with first-degree reckless endangerment and unlawful possession of a weapon as a juvenile delinquent under the age of 16.
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