Saratoga County District Attorney Karen A. Heggen announced that Joseph P. Koren (DOB 05/29/95), of 11 Hathorn Blvd, Saratoga Springs, NY, was sentenced today in Saratoga County Court for possessing a loaded firearm, before Saratoga County Court Judge James A. Murphy, III. Joseph P. Koren pleaded guilty on October 30, 2019 to Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, PL 265.3(3), a class C Violent Felony Offense.
At the time of his plea, Koren admitted that he possessed a loaded .38 caliber revolver outside his home on June 19, 2019, acknowledging that he possessed the firearm in a neighbor’s yard as he attempted to flee from the police.
District Attorney Heggen commended the Saratoga Springs Police Department on their quick response and apprehension of the defendant and thorough search of the neighboring properties which led to the recovery of the loaded revolver where the defendant had secreted it inside a neighbor’s shrubbery. DA Heggen commended Saratoga Springs Officer Adam Dingman for what she described as “extreme restraint and experienced judgment” during the initial law enforcement contact with the defendant when the defendant repeatedly refused Officer Dingman’s commands to drop the revolver and keep his hands in sight: “Watching the body camera video of the interaction between Officer Dingman and the defendant sends chills down your spine. The level of danger that the defendant created to the public, responding law enforcement and himself when he repeatedly refused to drop his gun and instead fled through a suburban neighborhood can not be understated. On more than one occasion throughout the incident the defendant violated the officer’s instructions and reached in the direction of the revolver as he fled, causing the Officer Dingman to make split second, life altering decisions. My office is grateful to work with such well trained, capable law enforcement professionals.”
Assistant District Attorney Charles Bucca prosecuted the case.
The defendant was sentenced to a 5-year determinate term of prison followed by 2.5 years of post-release supervision.