New developments in the attempted attack on U.S. Attorney John Sarcone of Croton. [Update: Sarcone expects Trump to appoint him as a federal judge.]

Charges are being reduced against the alleged assailant. Meanwhile, Albany police push back against criticisms of them by Sarcone.

Saul Morales-Garcia and the knife he allegedly used to threaten John Sarcone.

Local media in Albany have reported some updates in the alleged attempted attack on John Sarcone of Croton, now U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York. Readers will recall that on June 17, Sarcone reportedly fended off an attacker armed with a knife as he was leaving a hotel in the state capital. The suspect, Saul Morales-Garcia of El Salvador—whom authorities have claimed is in the country illegally—was arrested shortly afterwards and charged with attempted murder.

Albany's News Channel 13 now reports that the charges have been reduced, with Sarcone’s agreement:

“Albany County District Attorney Lee Kindlon released a statement saying that after investigating of the evidence, including a review of surveillance footage captured that evening, his office decided to lower the attempted murder charge to second-degree menacing. He is also charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.”

Meanwhile, Sarcone has come in for some sharp criticism from Albany police for statements he made that were critical of the police response. These statements can be viewed in a YouTube clip of his remarks:

In response, the Albany Police Benevolent Association wrote in a statement:

Mr. Sarcone claims that while being a victim of a menacing incident in the downtown area, he was appalled by the lack of police presence in and around the State Capitol, an area well-staffed by the NYS Police. While it is entirely possible that Mr. Sarcone is unaware of this, he should certainly be familiar with the decades-old emergency reporting system known as “911”. It is truly appalling that a sitting U.S. Attorney would fail to use a system that provides the absolute fastest police response, especially under circumstances where he claims someone could have been seriously injured or killed. His failure to do so unnecessarily risked harm to innocent civilians.

Mr. Sarcone also claims, “Albany Police never showed up to the scene”. This statement is not only false but appears to be an intentional misrepresentation of the facts for unknown reasons. Albany Patrol units were notified via dispatch approximately 7 mins after the incident and did respond. This delay was caused by Mr. Sarcone’s refusal to call 911, opting instead to call his friend for help. Albany Patrol units were confirmed to have been in the vicinity and again, would have provided the quickest police response had Mr. Sarcone taken the appropriate measures.

While we find the sequence of events outlined by U.S. Attorney John Sarcone to be questionable at best, it is disgraceful that he and his friend, Sheriff Craig Apple, have allowed for these slanderous and inaccurate statements to be made about the hard-working Patrolmen and Detectives of the Albany Police Department who answer these calls for service every single shift.

The Chronicle will continue to cover this case as appropriate.

Update June 26: In a wide-ranging interview with Law.com, U.S. Attorney John Sarcone says he is expecting President Donald Trump to appoint him as a federal judge. The publication reports:

The 120-day term of interim U.S. Attorney John Sarcone III expires July 14, and the temporary head of the 32-county jurisdiction said he will meet with federal judges on Friday, with the panel to mull whether to retain him for the duration of President Donald Trump’s second term.

Sarcone said he expects Trump to nominate him for a federal judgeship, as the president tried to do without success during his first term.

“While I’m waiting” on the judgeship, a process that could take months or even years, Sarcone said in an interview, “I wanted to be part of this ‘Take Back America’ initiative” in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, “knowing it’s temporary.”

The article adds:

Sarcone revealed that he had heard from his sources in the White House that Trump was not planning to nominate anyone, given the potential challenges of the Senate pathway, and so Sarcone lobbied for the job.

Sarcone said he expects to be given 15 minutes during the closed-door meeting with the federal judges, and he plans to explain his “aggressive program” to markedly increase the number of cases put before judges.

The report goes on to discuss changes and additions in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York. It appears to be open access for readers.

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