Rensselaer

Three violent felony cases were dismissed in city court after the Rensselaer County District Attorney's Office failed to indict the defendants within the required six-month time period.

District Attorney Joel Abelove campaigned two years ago on making sure cases weren't dismissed for missing speedy trial deadlines.

Rensselaer City Court was the scene for the 2013 dismissal of a rape case that Abelove cited in his campaign. It was also the setting for Wednesday's dismissals of the three recent cases, which involved the assault of a police officer, a home invasion and a threat to burn a church.

"We are conducting a review of the situation. But at the time, the situation is not a reflection of the entire office," Abelove said in a statement Friday.

The three cases were swept away Wednesday under the state's speedy trial statute called 30-30 by attorneys. Rensselaer City Court Judge Kathleen Robichaud dismissed them on a defense motion.

"The cases died a speedy trial death. They were dismissed," said Lucas Mihuta, the defense attorney in the three cases.

"I don't think I've ever had three in a single day," Mihuta, said outside City Hall following the dismissals.

Mihuta recounted that Nina Verdi was charged with felony assault against a police officer at a traffic scene, Anthony Rivera was charged with first-degree robbery for a home invasion, and Tiffany Michaels was facing filing a terroristic threat over the church incident.

Abelove blamed a former assistant district attorney, who's no longer on his staff.

Abelove's reputation among courthouse staff and lawyers is for having a tight rein on his office and his assistant district attorneys.

In his successful 2014 election bid for district attorney, Abelove campaigned saying that he would ensure cases wouldn't fail to be prosecuted due to speedy trial issues.

In 2013, an assistant district attorney under another district attorney failed to seek a hard-copy waiver of John Halacy's right to a speedy trial in a rape case and the charges were dropped against him. After he was released, Halacy was arrested for burglarizing a Colonie home also faced new charges in the rape case. He pleaded guilty in both cases and is serving a prison sentence of up to 5 years and 6 months in state prison for both charges. "The attorneys in the office did not count the days they had to file and then he gets out and commits a burglary in Albany County," Abelove said in October 2014. "That type of thing cannot happen. You have to know how to run your grand jury calendar."

Abelove declined Friday to discuss what he said about speedy trial issues in his campaign.

In his statement, the district attorney said, "We take the effective prosecution of crime in Rensselaer County very seriously, particularly violent crimes. Along with a review of the situation, we will view this as an opportunity to strengthen our prosecution and oversight of cases presented in local courts."

kcrowe@timesunion.com • 518-454-5084 • @KennethCrowe