Police Monday arrested an Albany man in connection with Saturday’s shooting at Crossgates Mall that sent shoppers fleeing and the facility into lockdown.
Tasheem Maeweather, 20, of North Pearl Street, now faces one count each of criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment, felonies.
Maeweather is accused of firing a single shot inside the mall near the Apple Store shortly after 2 p.m. Saturday, an area with many shoppers.
No one was hit.
Police began looking for Maeweather hours after the shooting, developing him as a suspect from video surveillance of the shooting and an eyewitness who picked him out of a photo lineup, Guilderland Police Chief Carol Lawlor said.
Officers watched Maeweather’s apartment and searched for him elsewhere. Police received information he’d be at a car wash in the area Monday afternoon and a tactical team responded, taking him into custody without incident, Lawlor said.
Lawlor said the investigation shows that Maeweather fired the shot during a dispute with another individual in the crowded area of the Apple Store on a busy Saturday afternoon. She did not give details of that dispute.
“There were a lot of people in the area,” Lawlor said.
No one was injured. Lawlor said police do not know where the bullet went.
Maeweather appeared in Guilderland Town Court Monday evening, where Judge Denise Randall ordered Maeweather held without bail.
Prosecutor Brittany Grome asked that Maeweather be held without bail, citing a “disregard for human life” and his conduct in the mall. Both, she said, make Maeweather a “clear and present danger to the community.”
Grome also noted that Maeweather was placed on felony probation a year ago and was to remain on probation until 2020. She said she expects a violation of that probation to be filed.
Police identified the prior conviction as drug related. Newspaper records indicate Maeweather was arrested in Schenectady in May 2015 on charges of criminal possession and sale of a controlled substance.
Defense attorney Cynthia Preiser entered a not guilty plea on Maeweather’s behalf. She asked for a reasonable bail, saying Maeweather has ties to the community through his family and school.
Maeweather said he attends night school. The nature of that schooling wasn’t clear in court.
Asked by the judge if he had any questions, Maeweather appeared to emphasize his not guilty plea, telling the judge he wants to take the case to trial.
Prosecutors are expected to present the case to a grand jury in the coming days. If convicted of the weapons count, Maeweather could face up to 5 to 15 years in state prison.
Law enforcement agencies responded at 2:20 p.m. Saturday for a report of shots fired at the Guilderland mall. One witness described a “river of people with panic on their faces” fleeing the mall.
Officers could be seen stationed throughout the day at mall entrances, holding assault rifles and escorting patrons and workers out of the facility. Roads into the mall were blocked off through Saturday evening.
Several witnesses described hearing multiple gunshots, but police said they believe there was only one shot fired, noting echoes could account for the reports of more than one.
Immediately after the incident, the mall was placed on lockdown, meaning patrons and employees were forced to remain in stores until law enforcement personnel could evacuate them.
That process took several hours. The mall was completely cleared by 10 p.m. Saturday.
The mall reopened Sunday at 11 a.m. and operated normally, though there were some additional police on site.
Reach Gazette reporter Steven Cook at 395-3122, [email protected] or @ByStevenCook on Twitter.
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