Police: Gloversville shooting death was burglary gone wrong

Police were called to an apartment at 22 East Pine St. in Gloversville at around 11 p.m. Monday for a report of shots fired. Police found Robert W. Phillips, 34, of Gloversville, shot dead in an upstairs apartment.

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22 East Pine St., Gloversville

Police in Gloversville said the gun that killed a city man during a home invasion Monday night belonged to the tenant of the apartment being burglarized, and that the tenant is now facing weapons charges.

The weapon was reported stolen in Montgomery County and possessed illegally by the tenant, according to a press release from the Gloversville Police Department.

The tenant, Jeremy S. Potter, 26, of 22 E. Pine Street, was charged with fourth degree criminal possession of stolen property (firearm), a felony, and criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor.

Police were called to the E. Pine Street apartment around 11 p.m. Monday night for a report of shots fired. Officers found Robert W. Phillips, 34, of Gloversville, shot dead in Potter’s upstairs apartment.

Police said Phillips and another man, Gary M. Terry, 22, had gone to the apartment intending to commit a home invasion robbery. The two men were equipped with what police said was a “simulated pistol.”

“Once they entered the apartment Phillips approached a sleeping Potter and an altercation ensued between the two after Potter introduced a revolver,” said the press release. “During the altercation the revolver was fired and Phillips fell to the floor.”

Phillips was officially pronounced dead by Fulton County Coroner Maggie Luck. Terry, who fled the scene Monday night, turned himself into police on Tuesday. He’s been charged with first-degree burglary and first-degree attempted robbery, both felonies. Police said Terry is a Gloversville resident, and indicated that other city residents provided information that led to his arrest.

The press release said police recovered the simulated pistol and “it was learned that the revolver that Potter possessed illegally was reported stolen out of Montgomery County in October 2016.”

Both Potter and Terry are being held for arraignment in Gloversville City Court. The state police Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Identification Unit assisted in the investigation.

Gloversville Police Chief Marc Porter declined to comment after the update was released Tuesday night. He told The Daily Gazette earlier on Tuesday that police had accounted for everyone involved in the incident and that the public was not in danger.

Gloversville Mayor Dayton King has been pushing the common council to approve hiring three additional patrol officers and a detective, which he said will improve public safety in the city. King said Tuesday the additional hires will cost around $380,000.

The Gloversville Common Council will discuss hiring the additional officers at a meeting Thursday.

“I just can’t imagine someone on the Common Council voting against hiring more police officers at this point,” said King, who mentioned an attempted armed robbery Wednesday at Joy Wok, a Chinese food restaurant on North Main Street.

King said he believes having more police will positively affect public safety in Gloversville overall, but he doesn’t know if having more police would have made an impact on Monday night’s incident.

“Who knows if they would’ve got the guy in the act or deterred it,” said King. “But when you don’t have enough cops, man, it’s bad.”

Reach Gazette reporter Daniel Fitzsimmons at 852-9605, [email protected] or @DanFitzsimmons on Twitter.