Murder suspect among inmates hurt in car accident

Despite a transport vehicle accident that sent murder suspect Marshall Jackson to the hospital Thursday morning, a judge said the defendant must be in court for his trial next week even if it means arriving in a wheelchair.

Jackson, 30, was supposed to appear in Oneida County Court Thursday for last-minute preparations before trial, but the defendant never made it because the county sheriff’s transport van he was riding in was rear-ended by another vehicle.

Jackson was among the three inmates taken to St. Elizabeth Medical Center to be treated for neck, knee and back injuries, along with two sheriff’s correction officers, officials said. The van also was carrying 10 jail inmates.

The accident occurred at the corner of Genesee and Elizabeth streets in downtown Utica around 9 a.m., right as Jackson’s defense attorney, Rebecca Wittman, and the prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Joseph Saba, waited in court for the defendant to show up.

When Judge Michael L. Dwyer got word that Jackson was hospitalized and would not be in court, Dwyer rescheduled the pretrial discussions for Friday or Monday morning.

“Just make sure there are no serious injuries that will delay us,” Dwyer told Wittman, who expects to meet with Jackson this weekend.

Jackson is charged with second-degree murder in connection to the shooting death of 24-year-old Anthony Garner following a May 25 confrontation on James Street. Jury selection is set to begin Monday.

By 2 p.m. Thursday, Jackson and the two other injured inmates â€" Jamie Lotoski and Thomas Ackerman â€" had been released from the hospital and returned to the county jail, where they were being monitored in the infirmary, officials said.

Thomas Trace, 42, of Marcy, was driving a 2005 Toyota south on Genesee Street when he rear-ended the county corrections van, deputies said. Trace was not injured.

The driver of the van, Deputy Robert Wright, was taken to St. Elizabeth with neck injuries, while his partner, Deputy Rodrick Pelton, went to the hospital for evaluation. Both officers were released.

The accident is under investigation and no tickets have been issued yet, deputies said.

Although Wittman doesn’t believe Jackson’s injuries are serious, she said the incident might pose an unexpected setback in her preparation plans on the eve of trial.

“It’s a little unfortunate that when we’re supposed to be in there discussing last-minute issues as far as the trial, he’s at the hospital instead and we’re doing none of the above,” Wittman said. “I just don’t know what the impact might be as far as if he can appear in court on Monday.”

Wittman also questions whether the accident might have aggravated Jackson’s post-traumatic stress disorder, which stems from his combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although police have not yet offered a motive for the James Street shooting, the defense could raise Jackson’s PTSD as a factor that could have triggered the violent gunfire.

Inmates are transported from the jail to court every day, so a couple of accidents a year is not uncommon, Oneida County Sheriff Robert Maciol said. Because the inmates’ movements are restrained with ankle shackles and wrist handcuffs, Maciol said there is little risk of escape when a vehicle is involved in an accident.

“We quickly deployed people from both the road patrols and the jail, so security of the inmates was never an issue,” Maciol said.