Dontie Mitchell remained calm and quiet during when the verdict said “not guilty” on attempted murder.

“The jury got it right,” Mitchell said.

During a one-on-one interview with NewsChannel 13’s Tessa Bentulan, Mitchell said he also should have been acquitted on both charges against him. However, he was found guilty of criminal possession of a weapon. He will be sentenced on that conviction in February 2025.

“Unfortunately, [the jury] didn’t have the requisite information to come to a proper conclusion on the gun.”

Mitchell claims the 12-person jury was not instructed properly on the law regarding criminal possession of a weapon by the prosecution – which was the Albany County District Attorney’s Office.

The DA’s office said in response:

The grand jury, in fact, did see enough evidence to charge Mr. Mitchell with Attempted Murder, as demonstrated by the indictment. In addition to the indictment, at the conclusion of the People’s case, a trial order of dismissal was made by the defense. The judge concluded that there was a prima facie case and submitted the Attempted Murder charge to the jury. The judge also heard arguments from both sides concerning “Temporary Lawful Possession” and ruled against the charge in this case. Finally, if there are any significant issues regarding instruction on the law, Mr. Mitchell has the right to address this on appeal.

During trial, the prosecution asked Mitchell if he paid one of the youth members for sex.

Mitchell testified before the grand jury that he had consensual sexual relationship with one of these young men he was mentoring. However, during the interview with NewsChannel 13, he did not want to answer any questions about it.

See the interview, by watching the video of Tessa Bentulan’s story.