There could be a criminal misdemeanor charge for vandalism against an assistant to New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Third-degree criminal tampering may be brought against Assistant Attorney General Stacey Hamilton for allegedly causing damage to a neighbor’s car in November by hurling an unidentified liquid onto it.
Hamilton’s lawyer allegedly accused Albany County District Attorney David Soares’ office of “unfair treatment,” even though the case was given to an unaffiliated special prosecutor.
With its investigation into the alleged wrongdoings of former President Donald Trump, James’ office has gained national attention in recent years. This investigation culminated in a recent successful business fraud lawsuit against the ex-president, which resulted in a judgment of over $464 million.
Newsweek stated that the claimed complaint against Hamilton, however, has nothing to do with Trump and is instead about a supposed disagreement or incident involving the assistant attorney general and her neighbour.
Hamilton allegedly told the paper’s reporter over the phone that they “really need to actually do some investigating,” according to the source. Hamilton has worked for numerous state government departments in the Empire State. She denied to The Times Union that she had been charged with any wrongdoing.
According to court documents quoted by The Times Union, on November 16, Hamilton allegedly splashed “unknown liquids” in a neighbor’s car. The neighbour then went to the police and reported vandalism, saying that the liquid had damaged the paint on his car.
The girlfriend of the owner of the car had beaten the assistant attorney general the same evening of the purported vandalism incident, according to Hamilton’s attorney, Kevin Gagan, who spoke to the newspaper. The girlfriend allegedly faces an assault misdemeanor charge.
“Get [Hamilton] arrested and to get into the papers to embarrass her so that she would drop the criminal case against this guy’s girlfriend—that’s the whole case,” asserted Gagan, claiming the vandalism charge was made up.
Additionally, he asserted that the reason the Soares office was “pulling the strings behind this” was because of “maybe some personal animosity between” Hamilton’s former coworker and the guy who works there.
The office informed the newspaper that there was “absolutely no truth to claims of behind-the-scenes manipulation by any member of our office” and that it was not a part of the alleged prosecution of Hamilton.
Hamilton, the assistant attorney general, was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday to address the vandalism allegations against her, according to sources. But City Court Judge John Reilly has rescheduled the hearing for April 17.
Should she be found guilty of third-degree criminal tampering, her maximum jail sentence may be ninety days.