Schenectady man pleads guilty to Halfmoon shooting
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HALFMOON, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Saratoga County District Attorney's Office announced that Justin Wagner of Schenectady pleaded guilty on Tuesday in connection to a shooting in Halfmoon. The 25-year-old was arrested back in January.
Wagner confessed that on January 4, he drove to Halfmoon to confront someone that he had an ongoing dispute with. During the altercation, Wagner confessed to firing several bullets at the person with an illegal AR-15 rifle he had built at his Schenectady apartment, striking them in the hand and lower leg.
The victim was tended to with tourniquets by emergency responders before being taken to Albany Medical Center to be treated for their injuries. Law enforcement located and arrested Wagner shortly after the shooting and found the rifle inside his work van.
"Thanks to the members of the Saratoga County Sheriff's Office and their quick response and calm under pressure, they were able to save the victim's leg as well as take both the defendant and an illegal firearm into custody within just a few minutes of the shooting," said Saratoga County District Attorney Karen Heggen. "This is another unfortunate example of a young person with an illegal firearm nearly killing someone else over a personal dispute."
Wagner is scheduled to be sentenced on July 15 and is expected to receive a sentence of 16 years in state prison and two and a half years of probation following his release. A full stay-away order of protection will also be issued on the victim's behalf.