The second week of the attempted murder trial of a former Oneida County Sheriff’s Office deputy started with testimony from one of the deputies who investigated Aaron Alshaman.
Aaron Alshaman stood before Judge Robert Bauer at the Oneida Courthouse in Utica on June 22, the fifth day of witness testimony. Alshaman, 29, of Lee Center, is accused of setting fire to a Utica residence on April 9, 2025.
Jennifer Gudnaya called 911 when they became overwhelmed with smoke in the interior of the residence, and fled outside with her infant child and two parents. Investigators ruled the fire was intentionally set and when asked if she knew who could have done it or if there had been any major changes in her life, Gudnaya said she had recently served Alshaman custody papers for their child.
Alshaman is charged with second-degree arson and four counts of second-degree attempted murder. Alshaman pleaded not guilty to all charges and bail was set at $250,000 or $500,000 cash bond.
Investigators look at Sheriff’s Office tracking device
Oneida County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Christopher James Paravati testified on Monday. Parvati was contacted by the Utica Police Department on April 9, 2025, to investigate Alshaman’s whereabouts during his shift after it was determined he was a person of interest.
“I was told they were investigating an arson and they wanted to rule Alshaman out since he was working that night,” Paravati said.
When questioned by Oneida County District Attorney Todd Carville, Paravati said that he pulled up the schedule and after confirming that Alshaman was working that night, Paravati said he shared Alshaman’s work schedule with the Utica Police Department. Alshaman was scheduled to start work at 10 a.m. on April 8 and finished work with overtime at 10 a.m. April 9.
Alshaman was assigned one of the DWI patrol vehicles, labeled vehicle 460 and utilizing tracking software installed on duty vehicles, Parvati determined Alshaman’s location at the time of the fire.
Trackstar Automatic Vehicle Locator is installed on all sheriff vehicles and through the use of GPS, allows the office to see the paths that the deputies while on patrol.
Paravati confirmed that Alshaman’s vehicle passed the Gudnay residence on Kellogg Avenue and then parked in the church parking lot just one street over on Ney Street.
“I was told it was believed the initial fire started at 4:03 a.m.,” Paravati said. “At 3:30 a.m., Alshaman’s vehicle arrives in west Utica and at 4:07, it leaves.”
The Oneida County undersheriff was notified by Paravati of the investigation and Alshaman’s whereabouts, at which point the Utica Police Department was given access to the Trackstar AVL.
Witness, videos show the end of Alshaman’s shift
Paravati was shown surveillance footage that the Utica Police Department had collected from nearby surveillance cameras. One of the black-and-white videos showed an individual dressed in black and carrying a gas can.
Paravati said he felt that the individual’s build and stature was similar to Alshaman’s.
On the Sheriff’s Office own surveillance videos, which appeared in color, at some time a little after 3 a.m. on April 9, Paravati said Alshaman stopped at the department’s garage for 14 minutes. Paravati said there isn’t much to do there, besides clean vehicles or fuel them. After that 14 minutes, Paravati said Alshaman returned to the Sheriff’s Office and stopped his DWI patrol vehicle and parked next to his personal vehicle.
According to Paravati, on the Sheriff’s Office surveillance cameras, Alshaman could be seen with a flashlight moving something into his vehicle. At around some time after Alshaman clocked out of his shift at 4:31 a.m. and the end of his DWI patrol, Paravati said Alshaman returned to the parking lot, parked next to his vehicle, removed a red item out of his patrol vehicle and placed it in his truck.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Sheriff’s deputy testifies about Alshaman’s whereabouts during fire
Reporting by Casey Pritchard, Utica Observer Dispatch / Observer-Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Casey Pritchard, Utica Observer Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
