By Doug La Rocque
Grafton Town Court was packed with potential jurors filling out questionnaires and listening to instructions, while the prosecutor and defense attorney met with Town Justice Rebecca Snyder-Greene in chambers. [private]They emerged last Wednesday morning with David Gruenberg, who represents Michael and Erica Costello, announcing that new evidence had been volunteered in the case less than 24 hours ago, and asked Justice Snyder-Greene for an adjournment to a later date so that both he and Assistant District Attorney Chris Ellis could have time to review it. Ellis joined Gruenberg in the motion, and Justice Snyder-Greene granted the adjournment. No new trial date has yet been set.
Back in August of last year, a hearing was held at the request of attorney Gruenberg to suppress evidence gained from a search of the Costello property. Justice Snyder-Greene ruled several weeks later that the search warrant served that day in August of 2015 was valid, and the evidence was admissible. At that hearing, Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Deputy Kim DeFazio testified that at times she found animals lacking food and clean drinking water. Several domestic animals were seized during the execution of the warrant.
The Costellos are charged with seven counts each of failing to provide sustenance and one count each of creating a condition that endangered others. That charge stemmed from the euthanizing of a horse the couple owned whose carcass was allegedly left on the ground near the roadway for several days. Two other horses involved in the early stage of the investigation were sold prior to the search warrant and arrests. All charges are misdemeanors. [/private]