El-leek T. Williams-Brace, 24, died suddenly May 16, 2006 at Albany Medical Center Hospital. Born May 15, 1982 to Carlton E. Brace and Allison D. Williams-Banks; grandson of Lucille Williams, Abbielee Brace and Nellie Mae Torain; brother of Constance, Salih, Tahirah, Khadyah, Muhammed and Sumayah; special friend, Kadesha Miller; also survived by 11 aunts, 13 uncles, three great-uncles, five great-aunts and a host of cousins and friends. You will be forever missed but never forgotten. Funeral service Saturday 1:00 p.m. at Wilborn Temple C.O.G.I.C., corner of So. Swan and Lancaster St. Viewing 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the church prior to the service. Interment, Graceland Cemetery.
From 'The Albany Times Union', 20 May 2006:
A 17-year-old high school dropout out on bail for robbery was arrested at his mother's Colonie home Friday and charged with gunning down a man celebrating his 24th birthday on an Arbor Hill street corner. Elleek Williams was shot three times Tuesday with a .22-caliber handgun after he stepped outside a bar on the corner of Lexington and Sheridan avenues. He had been celebrating his birthday inside Yana's Grill with friends and relatives. The victim was outside smoking a cigarette when he was shot.
Dushan Wilson allegedly shot Williams at 12:40 a.m. and they fled in a car, police said. Williams was taken by friends to Albany Medical Center Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:30 a.m.
Wilson and Williams -- both of whom grew up in Albany and had recently moved to Colonie, where they lived a few blocks apart -- apparently knew each other and were members of "loosely affiliated" groups of young criminals, according to investigators.
They also had been shot during recent disputes. Police stopped short of calling the killing a gang-related retaliatory shooting.
Police said Wilson fired four times and hit Williams with three bullets: one in each leg and one in the chest.
Wilson was arraigned Friday on charges of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
Both Wilson and Williams had been arrested in recent months on marijuana possession, robbery and other charges.
Mayor Jerry Jennings joined Chief James Tuffey, city police detectives and investigators from the U.S. Marshals Service at a news conference to announce Wilson's arrest and to reiterate a get-tough stance against the deadly confluence of drugs and guns.
"We know the people who are shooting each other," Tuffey said. "We want to get to the root of these senseless acts of violence and eradicate them."
Tuffey said a "small cadre" of thugs is creating a disproportionate share of the violence across the city.
"We are not going to tolerate it," Jennings said.
Wilson was arrested on a warrant just before 8 a.m. Friday at his mother's house at 22 Isbestor St. in Colonie, following a joint investigation involving the Albany and Colonie police departments and the U.S. Marshals.
"He was shocked when we came through his door," said Albany Detective Mike Nadoraski, the lead investigator.
Wilson was taken into custody without incident, Nadoraski said. The murder weapon was not recovered.
Wilson had four arrests in the past year. He was on bail for a robbery in October. In that case, Wilson allegedly shot at the robbery victims as they chased after him, police said.
Four months later, in February, Wilson was shot outside 301 Washington Ave. along with another young man, but neither was seriously wounded.
Williams, who was living at the Towers of Colonie Center apartments on Sand Creek Road, was shot in the leg last month during a dispute in the city. He also had several prior arrests in Albany and Colonie for marijuana possession and other crimes, police said.
"A lot of the shooting is retaliatory. We need to stop it in its tracks now," Tuffey said.
The mayor and police chief praised people in the community who called a tip line with leads for investigators.
"Most everyone was very cooperative," Nadoraski said.
Wilson told police he grew up in Arbor Hill, dropped out of high school after his junior year and was now pursuing a GED.
Despite the show of red and black bandannas, widely perceived as gang insignias, at a curbside memorial for Williams, investigators said they could not determine if he or Wilson belonged to organized gangs.
The makeshift shrine for Williams had swelled by Friday to include a half-dozen colorful mylar balloons, two dozen votive candles, sympathy cards and several empty beer and liquor bottles.
"We all know what's going on in this neighborhood, but what can we do to stop it?" asked Talmadge Lacy, a school crossing guard at the corner of Lexington and Sheridan avenues, a few yards from where Williams was shot.
Lacy stopped to talk with Keiona Hines, 10, a fifth-grader at Sheridan Preparatory Academy, as she walked home from school Friday. Hines said Williams was her cousin and she saw him at her uncle's house earlier on his birthday, a few hours before he was killed.
"It shouldn't have happened. It's really sad," she said.
"The 'hood is in mourning," said a man on a nearby stoop.
A rain-soaked sympathy card at Williams' memorial read: "With Love Always and 4-Ever. Never 4gotton. Love, yr. Hommie. Tora."
The funeral for Williams will be this afternoon at the Wilborn Temple in Albany. He will be buried in Graceland Cemetery.
From the Albany Times Union, 26 September 2006
ALBANY -- It was torture enough, for Allison Banks, the first time jurors indicted the 17-year-old accused of killing her son.
Now, because of a procedural misstep in the case against Dushawn Wilson, a judge has tossed out the murder indictment. And the process begins anew.
"It's kind of like living it all over again," said Banks, who is lobbying city officials to end gun violence.
Elleek Williams, the oldest of Banks' nine children, was shot dead on a busy street corner on May 16 after pausing to smoke a cigarette.
Williams was celebrating his 24th birthday inside Yana's Grill with friends and relatives when he briefly stepped outside onto Lexington Avenue to light up.
He was shot three times with a .22-caliber handgun, once in each leg and in the chest.
Williams also had been shot in the leg about a month before his death.
Wilson had four arrests in the previous year. He was out on bail on charges of robbery in October and illegal possession of a handgun. Four months later, in February, Wilson was shot outside 301 Washington Ave. along with another young man, but neither was seriously wounded.
Although Wilson was indicted and charged with second-degree murder in June, his lawyer, Gaspar Castillo, recently petitioned Albany County Judge Thomas A. Breslin to dismiss the indictment. Castillo claimed that Assistant District Attorney Kathleen Boland hadn't given proper notice of the grand jury proceeding. She said she did.
New York is one of the only states that allows a defendant to testify on his own behalf before the closed-door proceeding. Castillo asserts that Wilson had a right to make a statement, even if he eventually opted not to exercise that right.
In court papers, Breslin described both attorneys as experienced, hard-working and reputable. Yet he sided with Castillo.
Boland said she wasn't happy with the decision but will obtain a new indictment before a scheduled October conference in the case.
Banks admits that her son had previous run-ins with the law and had stays in a few group homes. But in recent years, she said, he worked hard to build a life. He was studying to be a medical assistant and had applied for a job at a rail yard.
"He had such a good heart, and was so handsome, and he was trying," Banks said, adding, "As long as I have to fight for justice for him, I will."
Banks wants officials to commit to ending gun violence, and she wants a memorial built in a vacant lot near where her son died.
"Someplace with a fence and flowers and maybe a plaque where you can think and read and look at the significance of life," she said. "This has to stop. How do we reach these kids?"
From 'The Albany Times Union', 20 May 2006:
A 17-year-old high school dropout out on bail for robbery was arrested at his mother's Colonie home Friday and charged with gunning down a man celebrating his 24th birthday on an Arbor Hill street corner. Elleek Williams was shot three times Tuesday with a .22-caliber handgun after he stepped outside a bar on the corner of Lexington and Sheridan avenues. He had been celebrating his birthday inside Yana's Grill with friends and relatives. The victim was outside smoking a cigarette when he was shot.
Dushan Wilson allegedly shot Williams at 12:40 a.m. and they fled in a car, police said. Williams was taken by friends to Albany Medical Center Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:30 a.m.
Wilson and Williams -- both of whom grew up in Albany and had recently moved to Colonie, where they lived a few blocks apart -- apparently knew each other and were members of "loosely affiliated" groups of young criminals, according to investigators.
They also had been shot during recent disputes. Police stopped short of calling the killing a gang-related retaliatory shooting.
Police said Wilson fired four times and hit Williams with three bullets: one in each leg and one in the chest.
Wilson was arraigned Friday on charges of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
Both Wilson and Williams had been arrested in recent months on marijuana possession, robbery and other charges.
Mayor Jerry Jennings joined Chief James Tuffey, city police detectives and investigators from the U.S. Marshals Service at a news conference to announce Wilson's arrest and to reiterate a get-tough stance against the deadly confluence of drugs and guns.
"We know the people who are shooting each other," Tuffey said. "We want to get to the root of these senseless acts of violence and eradicate them."
Tuffey said a "small cadre" of thugs is creating a disproportionate share of the violence across the city.
"We are not going to tolerate it," Jennings said.
Wilson was arrested on a warrant just before 8 a.m. Friday at his mother's house at 22 Isbestor St. in Colonie, following a joint investigation involving the Albany and Colonie police departments and the U.S. Marshals.
"He was shocked when we came through his door," said Albany Detective Mike Nadoraski, the lead investigator.
Wilson was taken into custody without incident, Nadoraski said. The murder weapon was not recovered.
Wilson had four arrests in the past year. He was on bail for a robbery in October. In that case, Wilson allegedly shot at the robbery victims as they chased after him, police said.
Four months later, in February, Wilson was shot outside 301 Washington Ave. along with another young man, but neither was seriously wounded.
Williams, who was living at the Towers of Colonie Center apartments on Sand Creek Road, was shot in the leg last month during a dispute in the city. He also had several prior arrests in Albany and Colonie for marijuana possession and other crimes, police said.
"A lot of the shooting is retaliatory. We need to stop it in its tracks now," Tuffey said.
The mayor and police chief praised people in the community who called a tip line with leads for investigators.
"Most everyone was very cooperative," Nadoraski said.
Wilson told police he grew up in Arbor Hill, dropped out of high school after his junior year and was now pursuing a GED.
Despite the show of red and black bandannas, widely perceived as gang insignias, at a curbside memorial for Williams, investigators said they could not determine if he or Wilson belonged to organized gangs.
The makeshift shrine for Williams had swelled by Friday to include a half-dozen colorful mylar balloons, two dozen votive candles, sympathy cards and several empty beer and liquor bottles.
"We all know what's going on in this neighborhood, but what can we do to stop it?" asked Talmadge Lacy, a school crossing guard at the corner of Lexington and Sheridan avenues, a few yards from where Williams was shot.
Lacy stopped to talk with Keiona Hines, 10, a fifth-grader at Sheridan Preparatory Academy, as she walked home from school Friday. Hines said Williams was her cousin and she saw him at her uncle's house earlier on his birthday, a few hours before he was killed.
"It shouldn't have happened. It's really sad," she said.
"The 'hood is in mourning," said a man on a nearby stoop.
A rain-soaked sympathy card at Williams' memorial read: "With Love Always and 4-Ever. Never 4gotton. Love, yr. Hommie. Tora."
The funeral for Williams will be this afternoon at the Wilborn Temple in Albany. He will be buried in Graceland Cemetery.
From the Albany Times Union, 26 September 2006
ALBANY -- It was torture enough, for Allison Banks, the first time jurors indicted the 17-year-old accused of killing her son.
Now, because of a procedural misstep in the case against Dushawn Wilson, a judge has tossed out the murder indictment. And the process begins anew.
"It's kind of like living it all over again," said Banks, who is lobbying city officials to end gun violence.
Elleek Williams, the oldest of Banks' nine children, was shot dead on a busy street corner on May 16 after pausing to smoke a cigarette.
Williams was celebrating his 24th birthday inside Yana's Grill with friends and relatives when he briefly stepped outside onto Lexington Avenue to light up.
He was shot three times with a .22-caliber handgun, once in each leg and in the chest.
Williams also had been shot in the leg about a month before his death.
Wilson had four arrests in the previous year. He was out on bail on charges of robbery in October and illegal possession of a handgun. Four months later, in February, Wilson was shot outside 301 Washington Ave. along with another young man, but neither was seriously wounded.
Although Wilson was indicted and charged with second-degree murder in June, his lawyer, Gaspar Castillo, recently petitioned Albany County Judge Thomas A. Breslin to dismiss the indictment. Castillo claimed that Assistant District Attorney Kathleen Boland hadn't given proper notice of the grand jury proceeding. She said she did.
New York is one of the only states that allows a defendant to testify on his own behalf before the closed-door proceeding. Castillo asserts that Wilson had a right to make a statement, even if he eventually opted not to exercise that right.
In court papers, Breslin described both attorneys as experienced, hard-working and reputable. Yet he sided with Castillo.
Boland said she wasn't happy with the decision but will obtain a new indictment before a scheduled October conference in the case.
Banks admits that her son had previous run-ins with the law and had stays in a few group homes. But in recent years, she said, he worked hard to build a life. He was studying to be a medical assistant and had applied for a job at a rail yard.
"He had such a good heart, and was so handsome, and he was trying," Banks said, adding, "As long as I have to fight for justice for him, I will."
Banks wants officials to commit to ending gun violence, and she wants a memorial built in a vacant lot near where her son died.
"Someplace with a fence and flowers and maybe a plaque where you can think and read and look at the significance of life," she said. "This has to stop. How do we reach these kids?"
El-leek T. Williams-Brace, 24, died suddenly May 16, 2006 at Albany Medical Center Hospital. Born May 15, 1982 to Carlton E. Brace and Allison D. Williams-Banks; grandson of Lucille Williams, Abbielee Brace and Nellie Mae Torain; brother of Constance, Salih, Tahirah, Khadyah, Muhammed and Sumayah; special friend, Kadesha Miller; also survived by 11 aunts, 13 uncles, three great-uncles, five great-aunts and a host of cousins and friends. You will be forever missed but never forgotten. Funeral service Saturday 1:00 p.m. at Wilborn Temple C.O.G.I.C., corner of So. Swan and Lancaster St. Viewing 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the church prior to the service. Interment, Graceland Cemetery.
From 'The Albany Times Union', 20 May 2006:
A 17-year-old high school dropout out on bail for robbery was arrested at his mother's Colonie home Friday and charged with gunning down a man celebrating his 24th birthday on an Arbor Hill street corner. Elleek Williams was shot three times Tuesday with a .22-caliber handgun after he stepped outside a bar on the corner of Lexington and Sheridan avenues. He had been celebrating his birthday inside Yana's Grill with friends and relatives. The victim was outside smoking a cigarette when he was shot.
Dushan Wilson allegedly shot Williams at 12:40 a.m. and they fled in a car, police said. Williams was taken by friends to Albany Medical Center Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:30 a.m.
Wilson and Williams -- both of whom grew up in Albany and had recently moved to Colonie, where they lived a few blocks apart -- apparently knew each other and were members of "loosely affiliated" groups of young criminals, according to investigators.
They also had been shot during recent disputes. Police stopped short of calling the killing a gang-related retaliatory shooting.
Police said Wilson fired four times and hit Williams with three bullets: one in each leg and one in the chest.
Wilson was arraigned Friday on charges of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
Both Wilson and Williams had been arrested in recent months on marijuana possession, robbery and other charges.
Mayor Jerry Jennings joined Chief James Tuffey, city police detectives and investigators from the U.S. Marshals Service at a news conference to announce Wilson's arrest and to reiterate a get-tough stance against the deadly confluence of drugs and guns.
"We know the people who are shooting each other," Tuffey said. "We want to get to the root of these senseless acts of violence and eradicate them."
Tuffey said a "small cadre" of thugs is creating a disproportionate share of the violence across the city.
"We are not going to tolerate it," Jennings said.
Wilson was arrested on a warrant just before 8 a.m. Friday at his mother's house at 22 Isbestor St. in Colonie, following a joint investigation involving the Albany and Colonie police departments and the U.S. Marshals.
"He was shocked when we came through his door," said Albany Detective Mike Nadoraski, the lead investigator.
Wilson was taken into custody without incident, Nadoraski said. The murder weapon was not recovered.
Wilson had four arrests in the past year. He was on bail for a robbery in October. In that case, Wilson allegedly shot at the robbery victims as they chased after him, police said.
Four months later, in February, Wilson was shot outside 301 Washington Ave. along with another young man, but neither was seriously wounded.
Williams, who was living at the Towers of Colonie Center apartments on Sand Creek Road, was shot in the leg last month during a dispute in the city. He also had several prior arrests in Albany and Colonie for marijuana possession and other crimes, police said.
"A lot of the shooting is retaliatory. We need to stop it in its tracks now," Tuffey said.
The mayor and police chief praised people in the community who called a tip line with leads for investigators.
"Most everyone was very cooperative," Nadoraski said.
Wilson told police he grew up in Arbor Hill, dropped out of high school after his junior year and was now pursuing a GED.
Despite the show of red and black bandannas, widely perceived as gang insignias, at a curbside memorial for Williams, investigators said they could not determine if he or Wilson belonged to organized gangs.
The makeshift shrine for Williams had swelled by Friday to include a half-dozen colorful mylar balloons, two dozen votive candles, sympathy cards and several empty beer and liquor bottles.
"We all know what's going on in this neighborhood, but what can we do to stop it?" asked Talmadge Lacy, a school crossing guard at the corner of Lexington and Sheridan avenues, a few yards from where Williams was shot.
Lacy stopped to talk with Keiona Hines, 10, a fifth-grader at Sheridan Preparatory Academy, as she walked home from school Friday. Hines said Williams was her cousin and she saw him at her uncle's house earlier on his birthday, a few hours before he was killed.
"It shouldn't have happened. It's really sad," she said.
"The 'hood is in mourning," said a man on a nearby stoop.
A rain-soaked sympathy card at Williams' memorial read: "With Love Always and 4-Ever. Never 4gotton. Love, yr. Hommie. Tora."
The funeral for Williams will be this afternoon at the Wilborn Temple in Albany. He will be buried in Graceland Cemetery.
From the Albany Times Union, 26 September 2006
ALBANY -- It was torture enough, for Allison Banks, the first time jurors indicted the 17-year-old accused of killing her son.
Now, because of a procedural misstep in the case against Dushawn Wilson, a judge has tossed out the murder indictment. And the process begins anew.
"It's kind of like living it all over again," said Banks, who is lobbying city officials to end gun violence.
Elleek Williams, the oldest of Banks' nine children, was shot dead on a busy street corner on May 16 after pausing to smoke a cigarette.
Williams was celebrating his 24th birthday inside Yana's Grill with friends and relatives when he briefly stepped outside onto Lexington Avenue to light up.
He was shot three times with a .22-caliber handgun, once in each leg and in the chest.
Williams also had been shot in the leg about a month before his death.
Wilson had four arrests in the previous year. He was out on bail on charges of robbery in October and illegal possession of a handgun. Four months later, in February, Wilson was shot outside 301 Washington Ave. along with another young man, but neither was seriously wounded.
Although Wilson was indicted and charged with second-degree murder in June, his lawyer, Gaspar Castillo, recently petitioned Albany County Judge Thomas A. Breslin to dismiss the indictment. Castillo claimed that Assistant District Attorney Kathleen Boland hadn't given proper notice of the grand jury proceeding. She said she did.
New York is one of the only states that allows a defendant to testify on his own behalf before the closed-door proceeding. Castillo asserts that Wilson had a right to make a statement, even if he eventually opted not to exercise that right.
In court papers, Breslin described both attorneys as experienced, hard-working and reputable. Yet he sided with Castillo.
Boland said she wasn't happy with the decision but will obtain a new indictment before a scheduled October conference in the case.
Banks admits that her son had previous run-ins with the law and had stays in a few group homes. But in recent years, she said, he worked hard to build a life. He was studying to be a medical assistant and had applied for a job at a rail yard.
"He had such a good heart, and was so handsome, and he was trying," Banks said, adding, "As long as I have to fight for justice for him, I will."
Banks wants officials to commit to ending gun violence, and she wants a memorial built in a vacant lot near where her son died.
"Someplace with a fence and flowers and maybe a plaque where you can think and read and look at the significance of life," she said. "This has to stop. How do we reach these kids?"
From 'The Albany Times Union', 20 May 2006:
A 17-year-old high school dropout out on bail for robbery was arrested at his mother's Colonie home Friday and charged with gunning down a man celebrating his 24th birthday on an Arbor Hill street corner. Elleek Williams was shot three times Tuesday with a .22-caliber handgun after he stepped outside a bar on the corner of Lexington and Sheridan avenues. He had been celebrating his birthday inside Yana's Grill with friends and relatives. The victim was outside smoking a cigarette when he was shot.
Dushan Wilson allegedly shot Williams at 12:40 a.m. and they fled in a car, police said. Williams was taken by friends to Albany Medical Center Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:30 a.m.
Wilson and Williams -- both of whom grew up in Albany and had recently moved to Colonie, where they lived a few blocks apart -- apparently knew each other and were members of "loosely affiliated" groups of young criminals, according to investigators.
They also had been shot during recent disputes. Police stopped short of calling the killing a gang-related retaliatory shooting.
Police said Wilson fired four times and hit Williams with three bullets: one in each leg and one in the chest.
Wilson was arraigned Friday on charges of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
Both Wilson and Williams had been arrested in recent months on marijuana possession, robbery and other charges.
Mayor Jerry Jennings joined Chief James Tuffey, city police detectives and investigators from the U.S. Marshals Service at a news conference to announce Wilson's arrest and to reiterate a get-tough stance against the deadly confluence of drugs and guns.
"We know the people who are shooting each other," Tuffey said. "We want to get to the root of these senseless acts of violence and eradicate them."
Tuffey said a "small cadre" of thugs is creating a disproportionate share of the violence across the city.
"We are not going to tolerate it," Jennings said.
Wilson was arrested on a warrant just before 8 a.m. Friday at his mother's house at 22 Isbestor St. in Colonie, following a joint investigation involving the Albany and Colonie police departments and the U.S. Marshals.
"He was shocked when we came through his door," said Albany Detective Mike Nadoraski, the lead investigator.
Wilson was taken into custody without incident, Nadoraski said. The murder weapon was not recovered.
Wilson had four arrests in the past year. He was on bail for a robbery in October. In that case, Wilson allegedly shot at the robbery victims as they chased after him, police said.
Four months later, in February, Wilson was shot outside 301 Washington Ave. along with another young man, but neither was seriously wounded.
Williams, who was living at the Towers of Colonie Center apartments on Sand Creek Road, was shot in the leg last month during a dispute in the city. He also had several prior arrests in Albany and Colonie for marijuana possession and other crimes, police said.
"A lot of the shooting is retaliatory. We need to stop it in its tracks now," Tuffey said.
The mayor and police chief praised people in the community who called a tip line with leads for investigators.
"Most everyone was very cooperative," Nadoraski said.
Wilson told police he grew up in Arbor Hill, dropped out of high school after his junior year and was now pursuing a GED.
Despite the show of red and black bandannas, widely perceived as gang insignias, at a curbside memorial for Williams, investigators said they could not determine if he or Wilson belonged to organized gangs.
The makeshift shrine for Williams had swelled by Friday to include a half-dozen colorful mylar balloons, two dozen votive candles, sympathy cards and several empty beer and liquor bottles.
"We all know what's going on in this neighborhood, but what can we do to stop it?" asked Talmadge Lacy, a school crossing guard at the corner of Lexington and Sheridan avenues, a few yards from where Williams was shot.
Lacy stopped to talk with Keiona Hines, 10, a fifth-grader at Sheridan Preparatory Academy, as she walked home from school Friday. Hines said Williams was her cousin and she saw him at her uncle's house earlier on his birthday, a few hours before he was killed.
"It shouldn't have happened. It's really sad," she said.
"The 'hood is in mourning," said a man on a nearby stoop.
A rain-soaked sympathy card at Williams' memorial read: "With Love Always and 4-Ever. Never 4gotton. Love, yr. Hommie. Tora."
The funeral for Williams will be this afternoon at the Wilborn Temple in Albany. He will be buried in Graceland Cemetery.
From the Albany Times Union, 26 September 2006
ALBANY -- It was torture enough, for Allison Banks, the first time jurors indicted the 17-year-old accused of killing her son.
Now, because of a procedural misstep in the case against Dushawn Wilson, a judge has tossed out the murder indictment. And the process begins anew.
"It's kind of like living it all over again," said Banks, who is lobbying city officials to end gun violence.
Elleek Williams, the oldest of Banks' nine children, was shot dead on a busy street corner on May 16 after pausing to smoke a cigarette.
Williams was celebrating his 24th birthday inside Yana's Grill with friends and relatives when he briefly stepped outside onto Lexington Avenue to light up.
He was shot three times with a .22-caliber handgun, once in each leg and in the chest.
Williams also had been shot in the leg about a month before his death.
Wilson had four arrests in the previous year. He was out on bail on charges of robbery in October and illegal possession of a handgun. Four months later, in February, Wilson was shot outside 301 Washington Ave. along with another young man, but neither was seriously wounded.
Although Wilson was indicted and charged with second-degree murder in June, his lawyer, Gaspar Castillo, recently petitioned Albany County Judge Thomas A. Breslin to dismiss the indictment. Castillo claimed that Assistant District Attorney Kathleen Boland hadn't given proper notice of the grand jury proceeding. She said she did.
New York is one of the only states that allows a defendant to testify on his own behalf before the closed-door proceeding. Castillo asserts that Wilson had a right to make a statement, even if he eventually opted not to exercise that right.
In court papers, Breslin described both attorneys as experienced, hard-working and reputable. Yet he sided with Castillo.
Boland said she wasn't happy with the decision but will obtain a new indictment before a scheduled October conference in the case.
Banks admits that her son had previous run-ins with the law and had stays in a few group homes. But in recent years, she said, he worked hard to build a life. He was studying to be a medical assistant and had applied for a job at a rail yard.
"He had such a good heart, and was so handsome, and he was trying," Banks said, adding, "As long as I have to fight for justice for him, I will."
Banks wants officials to commit to ending gun violence, and she wants a memorial built in a vacant lot near where her son died.
"Someplace with a fence and flowers and maybe a plaque where you can think and read and look at the significance of life," she said. "This has to stop. How do we reach these kids?"
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