Attempted-murder trial in its third week in Schenectady

Thomas Burns waved a gun in Mervin Bingham’s face outside a Van Vranken Avenue store in April 2014 over seemingly minor matters, Bingham testified today.

As to what Burns said after pulling the gun out, Bingham testified he didn’t know. Bingham instead focused on the gun.

Bingham reacted by pushing the gun and Burns away, but Burns didn’t go far.

“He aimed at my body, and that’s where he hit me,” Bingham testified of Burns firing. “All I can remember is really the ground. I was on the ground. I remember him walking away calling me a ‘stupid (expletive).’ He casually walked away like nothing happened.”

Bingham, now 23, hasn’t walked since. The single shot tore through his abdomen and hit multiple organs. It also hit his spine, paralyzing him instantly from the waist down.

Burns, 44, is standing trial at the Schenectady County Courthouse on attempted murder and other charges. He is accused of shooting Bingham late on April 19, 2014, near 1685 Van Vranken Ave., weeks after Bingham moved out of Burns’ apartment on Burns’ instructions.

The trial is in its third week and is expected to conclude soon; Judge Michael V. Coccoma is presiding. Burns faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

Prosecutor Amy Burock argued in opening statements that Bingham’s identification of the shooter is solid and corroborated by other evidence. Bingham never lost consciousness.

But Burns’ defense attorney, Frederick Rench, argued in his opening statements for another possible suspect and that Bingham’s lifestyle as a drug dealer perhaps led to his being shot. Bingham initially told police he didn’t know who shot him, Rench said.

Bingham testified to selling marijuana and later briefly to serving as a middle man for heroin sales.

Rench emphasized Bingham’s drug sales on cross-examination, as well as the victim’s prior involvement in drug court. Bingham had been wanted by drug court for about a year before the shooting for failing to show up for court.

Rench also appeared to try to suggest that the shooter’s gun went off accidentally during the struggle, but Bingham maintained that Burns aimed and fired.

Bingham testified today from his wheelchair. The court made special accommodations for him to speak from the well, because the witness stand is inaccessible to those using wheelchairs.

Bingham said he first moved in to Burns’ apartment after a fire at his previous residence. By early April, Burns had ordered Bingham out and Bingham left.

The two crossed paths afterward, but Bingham chose not to interact with Burns, according to Bingham’s testimony. Then, just before the shooting, Bingham went to a small convenience store on Van Vranken and encountered Burns while leaving.

Bingham testified that Burns became upset, pulled out his gun and finally fired and walked away.

Bingham said he remembered trying to move his legs after the shot, but he couldn’t. The victim spent the next six months at Albany Medical Center, undergoing at least two surgeries and extensive physical therapy.

He had to relearn basic tasks and adjust to life unable to walk. He’s had constant pain since his spinal injury.

“This whole situation has changed my life,” Bingham said.

Reach Gazette reporter Steven Cook at 395-3122, [email protected] or @ByStevenCook on Twitter.