Jordan Young supporters petition to have charges dropped
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — One year ago, Jordan Young was shot by Albany Police. On Tuesday, Supporters of Young went to the Albany County District Attorney’s office to deliver a petition of over 1,000 signatures to drop the charges.
But the office refused to accept the petition.
There was a suppression hearing in court on Monday. Jordan Young’s legal team stated that the police illegally interacted with him that day.
In 2022, police stopped Jordan Young on New Scotland Avenue and said they saw him holding a knife to his dog’s throat. Police claim Young charged at police. He was then shot in the torso three times. Young is facing a felony charge of menacing a police officer and misdemeanor possession of a weapon.
Rebekah Sokol is the Assistant Public Defender who is representing Jordan Young.
“We are in the process of putting a legal memorandum law to submit to the judge,” she said. “And we’ll see where we go from here.”
So far, Young has had 22 surgeries as a result of the shooting. His legal team says that there was significant damage done in the abdominal area. Gabriel Antonikowski is one of his supporters, and he says that Young’s state of health is the main reason why the charges should be dropped.
“Should he end up going to prison, you know..it may cost him his life,” he said. “So that’s really the crux of why we want him to drop the charges.”
Rebekah Sokol says another issue is that she has been representing more individuals with mental health diagnoses when they should receive the appropriate treatment. According to the family, Young has bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
“We’re seeing more of these individuals interacting with the likes of me. And then they get arrested,” Sokol said. “It’s really unfortunate that the resources aren’t there. You know, there aren’t enough treatment centers, there aren’t enough therapists. Especially centers who are willing to take on low-income individuals.”
Right now, if a family member feels that their loved one needs to go to a treatment center for mental health, the cost can average around $26,000 per month.
Earlier this month, Governor Hochul announced a one billion dollar plan to increase the capacity for inpatient psychiatric treatment by 1,000 beds and add 3,500 housing units for individuals with a mental illness. But the program will take up to five years to complete.
In the meantime, if Jordan Young’s charges are not dropped, then the case will go to trial.