Man sentenced for shooting gun in downtown Saratoga Springs

BALLSTON SPA – In recent Saratoga Springs history, Prosecutor Alan Poremba stated he can’t recall a criminal act that was "so publicly brazen and terrifying."

"I want to say I’m sorry for making everybody experience this thing," said Dennis Combs, 24, of Albany, the gunman who created much of the chaos described by the prosecutor.

Combs says he regrets everything he did on the evening of June 26, 2021.

That night, there was a bar fight, there was a street melee, and there was fear and panic at the corner of Caroline Street and Broadway in downtown Saratoga Springs.

Surveillance video captured on street cameras shows a mob of people chasing a stabbing suspect west on Caroline Street and then catching up with him on Broadway, where the mob began beating and kicking him. As the attack spilled into the street, Combs is seen pulling a gun from his waistband, pointing it into the air, and then firing off some shots.

"Obviously, this is not the OK Corral, this is not the movie Tombstone, and this is not to be done," stated Matthew Swedick, Combs’ attorney.

Swedick told the judge his client "had good intentions, but delivered it in the wrong way."

Even though the maximum penalty for second-degree weapons possession is 15 years, Combs worked out a plea agreement whereby he would get six to seven years.

Judge Jim Murphy had no choice other than to sentence Combs in that range.

"I think in this case, Mr. Combs admitted he’s guilty to the charge of criminal possession of a weapon, so in the court’s eyes he’s taken responsibility for his actions," Murphy stated.