Timeline of Caselnova case

Nov. 20, 2022 at 3 a.m.: Vito Caselnova gets into a fight with a group of men from Utica. He and Alex Colon exchange gunfire. Saratoga Springs Police respond to the scene and after Caselnova refuses repeated commands to drop his weapon, they fire at him. Caselnova had 10 bullet wounds, according to his attorney.  

March 28, 2023: After the case was presented to a grand jury, Caselnova was indicted on charges including attempted murder, assault, menacing and reckless endangerment. He pleads not guilty in Saratoga County Court.

March 30, 2023: One of the grand jurors hand-delivered a letter to the commissioner of jurors addressed to the judge saying she felt that they “rushed through our decision with little thought after hearing many days of complicated evidence.” One of the charges was related to a new law involving possession of a firearm in a sensitive location.

April 25:  Alexander Colon, Darius Wright and Christopher Castillo, all from Utica, pleaded not guilty in Saratoga Springs City Court to misdemeanor attempted assault charges.  

June 23: Judge Jim Murphy sets a trial date in the case for Oct. 2.

June 30, July 14: Caselnova’s attorneys file a motion to dismiss the indictment on the grounds that the assistant district attorney’s presentation to the grand jury was defective with incomplete instructions including failure to tell the grand jury that Caselnova attempted to back away from the situation.

Aug. 4, 2023: Saratoga County District Attorney’s office files its response to defense’s motion.

Sept. 20, 2023: Judge Jim Murphy dismisses the indictment on the grounds that the presentation to the grand jury was “so flawed” and “not fair in any sense of the word.” Among the issues were lack of instructions to the grand jury that Caselnova may have been justified in using deadly force, the difference in severity of charges faced by Caselnova and the men and the aggressive nature with which the ADA questioned Caselnova compared with Alexander Colon.