Court docs: Man released, steals truck, leads police on chase

Only on 13 — a man who was arraigned and released on an aggravated harassment charge in Saratoga County is back behind bars.

The judge couldn’t set bail on the case because aggravated harassment is not a bailable offense even though he was accused of threatening to kill someone.

So following his original arraignment Friday morning, where he was set free, investigators say he walked out of court and almost immediately stole a truck then led police on a chase.

Eric Sahm, who is from central New York, is now charged with grand larceny, which is a bailable charge, and unlawful fleeing of a police officer.

Investigators say after his first arraignment he walked from Wilton Town Court to the nearby Stewart’s, stole a truck and led police on a chase down the Northway before finally being caught in halfmoon.

“The court notes that you were released because of the non-qualified charge being charged originally,” Judge Matthew Coseo told Sahm. “The court now notes that you are charged with a felony, that you have seven prior felony convictions, six prior misdemeanor convictions, six failure-to-appear counts, five parole revocations. Pursuant to the criminal procedure law, as you are charged with a felony and you have two or more prior felonies, this court is without authority to set bail and must remand you to the custody of the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office.”

This case has Saratoga County District Attorney Karen Heggen calling for bail reform.

“This is a case where the limitations of the current bail laws impede a court’s ability to exercise their discretion to be able to take into account the history and character of the charged defendant when bail is considered,” Heggen said in a statement.