Albany, New York– A man who wore a clown mask and brandished a chainsaw during a horrific incident in an upstate New York neighborhood was found guilty Wednesday of two felony charges.
An Albany District Court jury found the 35-year-old guilty of first-degree menacing and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the May 1 incident in Cohoes. Sentencing has been scheduled for February 6, where he faces a prison sentence of between two and seven years.
The man was seen on surveillance video walking through the neighborhood wearing a clown mask and football jersey and carrying a red chainsaw in the middle of the afternoon, District Attorney Lee Kindlon said.
A local resident confronted the masked man, who pulled a plastic sheath from the saw and raised it in a threatening manner, Kindlon said. The public prosecutor said that during the quarrel, the citizen subdued the man until the police arrived. He added that officers also found the man’s metal knuckles.
The jury returned guilty verdicts after a two-day trial and two hours of deliberation, Kindlon said. The accused did not testify, and the defense did not call any witnesses.
The man and his public defender did not immediately respond to text and phone messages left on the lists Wednesday evening.
The prosecution called four witnesses to the stand and showed the man the video.