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Wilton man found guilty of assault of Gloversville man in road rage trial
Posted at: 09/26/2012 4:54 PM
| Updated at: 09/26/2012 5:48 PM
By: Mark Mulholland
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BALLSTON SPA - Frank Soriano wasn't talking about the verdict announced a few minutes earlier that will send him to state prison.
"I'm sorry, Mark, you're going to have to address all of your questions to my attorney," Soriano said to this reporter.
The jury found that he was the aggressor in a road rage incident last year in Wilton that sent another man to Albany Medical Center with stab wounds.
A bloody 42-year-old Jeffrey Streicher of Gloversville is seen on a CVS surveillance image shortly after the encounter with Soriano on Northern Pines Road.
Soriano claimed that Streicher charged at, and attacked him. He testified that he was acting in self defense when he pulled the knife from his pocket and stabbed the younger, more athletic Streicher.
"I think the jury saw through Mr. Soriano's contrived testimony," said James Murphy, Saratoga County District Attorney.
Prosecutors argue that Soriano has a history of road rage, but the judge didn't allow testimony in that regard during trial.
And Soriano's attorney, Michael Koenig, accuses the D.A. of impugning his client's reputation.
The jury acquitted Soriano of first degree assault, apparently finding that he didn't cause serious physical injury. Streicher spent just one day at the hospital.
They found him guilty of second degree assault, which includes physical injury, but not serious physical injury.
"We believe Frank acted in self-defense that day," said Koenig. "We believed it before the trial and we believe it now. And the jury rejected that."
Soriano could be sentenced to prison for as few as two, to as many as seven years when the judge sentences him on November 29th.
Attorney Koenig says it's too early to decide whether his client will appeal.
Soriano remains free on bail.
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