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ALBANY — The Colonie man who accused of barricading himself in at Albany Medical Center on March 27 with a firearm pleaded not guilty in Albany County Court on Wednesday morning to felony charges of second-degree murder of his mother and first-degree attempted murder of a police officer at a second location.
Dino Savoca, 61, also pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to a felony charge of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the March incident, which saw the Albany hospital enter lockdown after Savoca allegedly barricaded himself into a hospital room with his 97-year-old mother Rosemary Appel, who died the following day.
Savoca was indicted by an Albany County grand jury on Monday for the three felony charges, with the indictment alleging that Savoca acted with intent to kill his mother and attempted to cause the death of a police officer earlier that day in the area of the Ahl Avenue home he shared with his mother in the Colonie. Savoca, while allegedly attempting to kill another unidentified person, attempted to kill a police officer who was performing his duties, according to the indictment.
Savoca was previously charged with felony counts of second-degree kidnapping and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, as well as a misdemeanor count of second-degree menacing for the March 27 hospital standoff, which saw Savoca allegedly threaten hospital staff with a weapon and then barricade himself in his mother’s hospital room for four hours before being detained by police.
During the hearing in the court with judge William Little on Wednesday morning, Savoca, outfitted in a yellow prison jumpsuit, dabbed tears from his face with a cloth during the proceedings.
Savoca was remanded to county jail pending a formal bail application.
The indictment does not specify how Savoca allegedly caused his mother’s death.
Savoca attorney Martin Bonventre said after the hearing that further revelations about his client’s case are forthcoming.
“This is a complicated case and it’s going to take some time to sort it all out,” he said. “There is more information than is really appropriate for me to talk about right now and a lot more information than we know right now. This is the very beginning of this case and I think it’s important for us to be patient as both sides gather more information.”
Savoca is next due in court on June 13. Albany County Assistant District Attorney Caroline Murray and Stephen Lydon are handling the case for the prosecution.
Contact Ted Remsnyder at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @TedRemsnyder.
Categories: -News-, News, Schenectady County
