A New Rochelle man and his son have pleaded not guilty to charges accusing them of menacing his partner and a neighbor with a loaded gun and a machete, the Westchester District Attorney’s Office announced.
Donald Thomas, 47, and Sincere Thomas, 25, were arraigned Tuesday, Feb. 17, in Westchester County Court on a 19-count indictment charging them with second- and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, first-degree reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a firearm, all felonies, and multiple misdemeanors.
According to a news release from the DA’s Office, a dispute on Jan. 13 led Donald Thomas to punch his partner in the face, brandish a pocket knife at the neighbor and try to slash him with a machete.
When the neighbor went back into his apartment, Donald Thomas got his son from their apartment to join him in menacing the neighbor, according to prosecutors. He then allegedly confronted his partner with a loaded gun in an effort to get her to draw the neighbor out of his apartment, all while an 8-year-old child watched in the hallway.
Father and son soon ran off, but not before Sincere Thomas allegedly slashed the neighbor’s door with a machete and Donald Thomas fired a shot at the door, according to the news release.
After Donald Thomas was arrested the following day, his son allegedly threatened the partner with a kitchen knife in front of the same child. Sincere Thomas was arrested later that day .
Prosecutors Paige Pirtle and Janelle Armentano sought bail for Sincere Thomas and an increase in his father’s bail. But Donald Thomas’ lawyer Michael Lambert argued that his client was a longtime resident of New Rochelle so not a flight risk.
Westchester Judge Susan Capeci maintained Donald Thomas’ bail and declined to set bail for the son.
Lambert later called a bail request based solely on an indictment “inappropriate”.
“Getting an indictment is like tying a shoe; it’s not an accomplishment,” Lambert said in a phone interview Wednesday, Feb. 18.
He declined to discuss the allegations but said they are based nearly entirely on the woman’s account and that she could prove to have credibility issues.
But District Attorney Susan Cacace commended the woman for coming forward when domestic violence victims often stay silent. She said the community was safer as a result of her courage.
“The sheer volume of charges in this indictment reflects the severity and unrelenting nature of the defendants’ alleged conduct,” Cacace said in the news release. “What began as a simple dispute spiraled needlessly into a multipronged conflict, including alleged acts of menacing and harassment, putting innocent lives at risk and endangering the welfare of a young child.”
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: New Rochelle father, son indicted on weapon, endangerment charges
Reporting by Jonathan Bandler, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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