Troy

The government email records of Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel E. Abelove were seized by investigators with the state attorney general's office Tuesday in an ongoing investigation into his handling of a fatal police shooting case last year in Troy.

State investigators presented a search warrant to officials at the Rensselaer County offices on Tuesday afternoon that instructed the county to turn over a digital copy of Abelove's work-related emails, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. The county officials quickly complied.

It's the second time in a month the attorney general's office has used a search warrant to obtain evidence in the case. On March 16, investigators seized Abelove's cell phone — taking it right from his hand — as he arrived for work at the Rensselaer County Courthouse.

John W. Bailey, Abelove's attorney, said they were unable to confirm that a search warrant was used this week to seize Abelove's emails. He said his client only "heard rumors" that it happened.

"We do not know anything about a search warrant and we are confident that there is nothing in his emails which would support allegations of inappropriate let alone criminal activity," Bailey said. "We are confident that a neutral and impartial judge would tailor a very specific warrant targeting very specific emails."

The search warrants are being overseen by Columbia County Court Judge Jonathan D. Nichols. The search warrant case was transferred to Nichols last month by Supreme Court Justice Thomas A. Breslin, the region's administrative judge. The transfer was ordered several days after Bailey publicly questioned why state Supreme Court Justice Richard McNally, a former Rensselaer County district attorney who defeated Abelove in Abelove's first run for the office, had signed the warrant used to seize Abelove's cell phone. Bailey said McNally should have recused himself from the case.

The search warrant applications documenting the investigators' probable cause to believe the electronic records contain evidence of a crime remain sealed. The investigation has focused on whether Abelove interfered with the attorney general's jurisdiction last year when he quickly presented the fatal shooting case to a grand jury that cleared a Troy police sergeant of wrongdoing in the slaying of a DWI suspect.

The grand jury review took place after the attorney general's office notified Abelove it was reviewing the case under a gubernatorial order giving Schneiderman's office jurisdiction in cases involving fatal encounters between police and unarmed civilians.

The Times Union reported last year that Abelove did not require Sgt. Randall French, the officer involved in the shooting, to waive his immunity from prosecution when he testified before the grand jury that cleared him five days after the shooting. The decision by Abelove to not have the officer sign an immunity waiver raised questions about the validity of the grand jury's determination to clear the police officer — because the panel could not have voted to indict him without a waiver.

In February, Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order giving Schneiderman's office the authority to also investigate Abelove for his handling of the case. The extraordinary order allowed Schneiderman to investigate Abelove's and other law enforcement officials' handling of the investigation.

Edson Thevenin, 37, was shot multiple times as he fled a DWI arrest last April. Troy police officials said they believed that Thevenin was armed — with a vehicle — and that he drove forward and pinned French's legs against his police cruiser before the officer opened fire. Two civilian witnesses, who did not testify in the grand jury, told investigators they did not believe French was in imminent danger when he opened fire.

blyons@timesunion.com • 518-454-5547 • @brendan_lyonstu