Saratoga County Acting District Attorney Jennifer L. Buckley announced today that Justin P. Wagner (DOB 07/03/1999) was sentenced before the Honorable James R. Davis in the Saratoga County Court to sixteen (16) years in State Prison in connection with his March 18, 2025 plea to
Assault in the First Degree, a Class “B” Violent Felony in violation of New York State Penal Law Section 120.10(1).
The Defendant had previously admitted under oath that on the morning of January 4, 2025 in the Town of Halfmoon he fired numerous rounds from an AR15 rifle at another man striking him in both the hand and lower leg. The Defendant had driven to Halfmoon that morning to confront the victim over a personal dispute and fired an illegal AR15 that he had built within his Schenectady apartment.
Members of the Saratoga County Sherriff’s Office arrived almost immediately to the scene of the shooting and applied two (2) life-saving tourniquets to the injured man who was rushed to Albany Medical Center. The Defendant fled the scene of the shooting but was soon taken into custody without incident by law enforcement who located the firearm inside his work van.
The Defendant will also serve two-and-a-half (2 ½) years of Post Release Supervision and was issued a Full Stay Away Orders of Protection in favor of the victims that will remain in place until 2049.
All parties involved thanked the members of the Saratoga County Sherriff’s Department, New York State Police, and Mechanicville Police Department for their fast arrival at the scene, life-saving efforts under pressure, and professional handling of an armed suspect that resulted in invaluable physical evidence being seized and no further injuries being suffered.
The case was prosecuted by General Felony Unit Bureau Chief Joseph A. Frandino, Assistant District Attorney Alycia J. DeMilio, and Assistant District Attorney Karen L. Zenilman together with District Attorney Investigators Michael F. Wells and Michael P. Hourigan.