Albany

The case against the alleged getaway driver in the Aug. 21, 2015 robbery and murder of Colonie barber Jacquelyn Porreca just became a lot weaker.

In a 39-page decision issued Monday, state Supreme Court Justice Thomas Breslin will not allow an Albany County jury to hear any of the allegedly incriminating statements made by Sean Moreland, 33, the Colonie man charged with second-degree murder in the killing of Porreca, 32, in the Recycled Salon at the corner of Sand Creek and Russell roads in Colonie.

The judge tossed Moreland's videotaped statements to police on Nov. 10 because Colonie police obtained the information after Moreland asked for his lawyer, John McFadden, when police first spoke to him Nov. 3 after arresting him for driving with a suspended license. At the time, McFadden was representing Moreland in an unrelated burglary case.

"I think I should have my lawyer here for this," Moreland told an investigator. "It seems pretty intense, you know. I thought I was brought in just for some vehicle stuff."

McFadden faxed a letter to Colonie police and called their station asking them cease questioning his client.

The judge ruled out Moreland's recorded and written statements to police on Nov. 10 and two statements he made to a police informant on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8.

"In as much as Moreland both invoked his right to counsel and counsel entered on the homicide, his indelible right to counsel attached and he could not be questioned in the absence of his attorney," Breslin stated.

And Breslin determined that prosecutors cannot use any evidence from Moreland's car because it was wrongly impounded because Colonie police had no basis to impound it when they took it from his driveway. As well, they cannot use evidence from Moreland's cellphones.

The case against the victim's alleged stabber, Michael Chmielewski, remains strong. The judge ruled Monday that jurors can hear the statements made by Chmielewski, 23, of Colonie, including an alleged confession to police and an informant, drawings about where the alleged murder weapon was tossed into a lake in Washington Park and written apologies to Porreca's family and to his own daughter

The decision could have a major impact on the future legal decisions of Moreland and Chmielewski. Both men have court dates scheduled for next week at which they could accept plea bargains; Chmielewski on Sept. 6 and Moreland on Sept. 8. Moreland already faces 7 to 9 years in prison for second-degree burglary for breaking into a neighbor's home on Kim Drive at on July 27, 2015. That case is before Judge Stephen Herrick.

The judge allowed statements Moreland made to police on Nov. 3 to be heard by the jury, but none are considered incriminating.

Prosecutors allege Chmielewski stabbed Porreca in the neck during a robbery that he and Moreland planned to score money to feed their heroin addictions.

Moreland faces 25 years to life if convicted of second-degree murder. Chmielewski, who is charged with first-degree murder, faces life in prison without parole if convicted of first-degree murder.

rgavin@timesunion.com • 518-434-2403 • @RobertGavinTU