New York’s highest court has been tasked with reviewing a lower court’s decision to dismiss a murder indictment against a former elementary school teacher. James Ball, a former teacher at Smith Road Elementary in North Syracuse, was accused of fatally shooting his brother-in-law Christopher Ross. The incident occurred at Ball’s home on July 4, 2017…

A homeowner who shot and killed two people who were attempting to burglarize his home in Deerfield, New York, was believed to have acted out of self-defense. Ronald Stolarczyk, 64, was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in the homicide case. He fatally shot Patricia Talerico, 57, and her nephew Nicholas Talerico, 27, as they were breaking…

A New York Police Department sergeant was stripped of his gun and badge after fatally shooting a 66-year-old woman with a history of erratic behavior inside her Bronx apartment. NYPD Assistant Chief Larry Nikunen said the sergeant responded to a neighbor’s 911 call about the emotionally disturbed woman’s irrational behavior. Upon entering the seventh-floor apartment,…

Self-defense can be used as a legal defense strategy for people charged with murder, assault or other serious and violent crimes. Also known as justification in New York State, this defense can be used when the defendant has hurt another individual, but their actions were justified because they were defending themselves from the threat of…