Lawyer: My client did not have any gun in any bar

SARATOGA SPRINGS – According to the lawyer for one of three Utica area men charged in connection to the Saratoga Springs gunfight last November, his client was nothing more than a victim of senseless gun violence that night.

Utica attorney Anthony LaFache represents Alexander Colon, who is one of three men named by a Saratoga County grand jury, and charged with the misdemeanor “attempted assault”.

Darius Wright and Christopher Castillo are the others facing similar misdemeanor charges.

Despite previous news reports to the contrary, LaFache said nothing was said inside any bar to anyone involving his client. Whatever unfolded in the wee hours of November 20, 2022, occurred outside on the street, he stated.

LaFache’s client does have a concealed carry permit allowing him to carry a gun, he said.

“If the grand jury believed he had a gun inside a bar, he likely would have been charged with possessing it inside a “sensitive location” (as Vito Caselnova was),” LaFache suggested. “I certainly was not there when the grand jury deliberated.”

Caselnova, 25, a Glens Falls resident who was an off-duty Vermont sheriff’s deputy at the time of the shooting, pleaded not guilty to the entire eight-count indictment against him on Tuesday. The top counts are attempted murder and assault, each of which carries a maximum 25-year prison sentence.

“The judge in Saratoga County issued an order of protection on behalf of my client,” LaFache stated. “That means (Caselnova) was told he had to stay away from my client.”

“If you look at the charges again these three men from Utica versus the charges against Mr. Caselnova, it pretty much tells the story as to who the instigator was and who the aggressor was and who fired first,” LaFache stated.

According to the Utica based attorney, his client was in the Capital Region that night with several people to celebrate a friend’s birthday. After having dinner at a Clifton Park restaurant, some members of the group headed to Saratoga Springs.

Colon, Wright, and Castillo are scheduled for arraignment in Saratoga Springs City Court on April 25.