The second week of the attempted murder trial of a former Oneida County Sheriff’s Office deputy has seen 25 witnesses testify with more still left to testify for the prosecution as the trial continues into its second week.
Aaron Alshaman stood before Judge Robert Bauer at the Oneida Courthouse in Utica on June 24, the seventh 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.
He had been a member of the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office for around five years, serving from Sept. 2020 to March 2023 before serving shortly with the Rome Police Department and returning to the sheriff’s office on August 2024.
If convicted of his top charge alone, second-degree arson, Alshaman faces up to 25 years in state prison.
Oneida County District Attorney Todd Carville said that money and his financial future was the motivation for Aaron Alshaman’s alleged attempted murder and arson.
“What makes this case so disturbing is that Aaron Alshaman, who took an oath to protect, started a fire to the residence of his own son while knowing they were there and with intent to cause the death of his own son,” Carville said. “And he did it while on duty as a sheriff’s duty.”
Defense Attorney John Leonard said that the prosecution was “planting the seed” that Alshaman was a “bad guy” and that it was “crazy” that Alshaman would kill people over paying more child support and that the prosecution’s entire case was circumstantial.
Click here to read about the previous day in court.
Passing through the area
A block south from Kellogg Avenue, a security camera captured video at 3:03 a.m. of a Utica Police vehicle driving through the area, which Rahn said did not report any suspicious activity. Around half an hour later, Alshaman’s vehicle is seen passing by the camera.
More questions than answers
Rahn seems to grow frustrated, telling Alshaman that his story raised more questions than answers.
“You got to work with me here, did you pick anyone up? Because how do you explain someone walking away from the fire, heading to the parking lot where your vehicle is parked, and then you leave two minutes after,” Rahn said.
Alshaman remains adamant that he had nothing to do with the fire and that he was having no financial issues, despite text messages with Jennifer Gudnaya to the contrary.
Rahn asks if the Utica Police Department could take possession of his phone to download GPS data, to which Alshaman agrees at first, but then starts questioning when Rahn said this would include his calls and text messages.
“More than anything, just because of what my job is, I want to make sure it’s alright,” Alshaman said.
Cameras everywhere
“I’ve got cameras right here, right here, and right here,” Rahn said during Alshaman’s interview on April 10, 2025. “I’m not bullshitting you or playing games. Your GPS says that you’re there three minutes away from the fire and your car leaves two minutes after it starts. Did you see a fire?”
Alshaman immediately said he didn’t see a fire, to which Rahn said that he should have been able to.
“We have cameras up and down this place,” Rahn said. “All roads lead to you right now. Right now, it’s time to get ahead of it. How do you think this looks? I’ve been doing this 18 years. I’m not throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks. All the evidence is pointing your way.”
Rahn asked Alshaman to explain how he could have missed the fire.
“I was on the phone with the guys,” Alshaman said before showing Rahn his phone and the call log with his coworkers before adding that he was in the area looking for the guy on the bike.
“We have no one on a bike in that area. Didn’t you see the fire trucks?” Rahn asked.
Alshaman said he didn’t.
“This is just the craziest coincidence then when the fire goes up and then you leave two minutes later,” Rahn said.
“I agree, it is crazy,” Alshaman said.
Interview room
At 6:03 p.m. on April 10, Aaron Alshaman was brought in for questioning at the Utica Police Department. The prosecution played a video of the interview room, which shows Alshaman being interviewed by an officer.
The investigator reads Alshaman his Miranda Rights and informed Alshaman that there had been a fire at the Gudnay residence. Alshaman seems calm and relaxed as he talked about his relationship with Jennifer Gudnaya.
“She was upset with me because I wasn’t really involved,” Alshaman said before mentioning that the morning after the fire, he had gone to Jennifer’s lawyer to pick up paperwork.
“She’s wanted full custody since the beginning and it sounds horrible, but I agreed,” Alshaman said. “The only time we ever talked was when it was about a payment. I’m already paying her 17% of my salary.”
When asked by Investigator Rahn when was the last time she saw Jennifer before the fire, he said it had been “a couple of months.”
When asked by Rahn if he was near Kellogg Avenue, Alshaman said he was in the area at JPJ’s and that he had been in the area after seeing someone on a bicycle that looked suspicious.
“I was driving around that area and the bike was dipping on me, and then I went up Champlain and he took another street and I lost sight of him,” Alshaman said. “Then I saw him come out of a big abandoned building in the parking lot and started going toward the college.”
Rahn was asked by Carville if he saw anyone on a bicycle in those areas on nearby cameras and he said no.
“I gave up and I needed to take a piss, so I parked in the parking lot and then at that point at around 4 a.m., I needed to take care of the radar and then we did that until 5 a.m.,” Alshaman said.
When asked by Rahn how often he went into the West Utica area, Alshaman said he’d go to the area often.
“We’ve got your vehicle a block over from where this fire started and we got your car leaving right after the fire started,” Rahn said. “We’ve got someone leaving [the Gudnay] house and heading towards your car. Did you have anyone else with you?”
Alshaman said no, and also said that during the fire, he was in a call with two other people in squad four.
Search for the bicyclist
With Alshaman’s story being that he was in the area looking for a suspicious bicyclist that he had seen prior, Rahn said he started looking through camera footage.
When asked if he ever saw an individual on a bike in the multiple cameras he had canvassed, Rahn said no and neither did anyone contact the Utica Police Department to report a man on a bike.
GPS data
“I asked if he knew his car had GPS and Alshaman said yes,” Rahn said. “I asked him what he was doing in that area.”
Rahn asked for consent to search Alshaman’s ceel phone and after asking for permission, Rahn said Alshaman gave him the password for the phone.
When asked if he could search anything else, Rahn said he asked Alshaman if he could review the smartwatch that Alshaman wore.
Interview with Alshaman
Rahn said after learning that Alshaman was in the area and had parked in a parking lot nearby when the fire had started, he called Alshaman up and requested he come in for an interview.
He also advised Alshaman of his Miranda Rights and Waiver of Rights.
“Alshaman agreed to speak with me,” Rahn said. “I asked him about his relationship with Jennifer Gudnaya and his child and I asked him if there were any financial issues. And he said he had no issues and that he was on a payment plan with her.
The fire
“I walked to the back porch and found significant fire damage,” Rahn said. “I spoke with Jennifer Gudnaya, asking if there was anyone who might want to set the fire, if she was having any problems with anyone or if her parents were having any problems with someone.”
Rahn said that Gudnaya didn’t think there was anyone who had a problem with her, but she admitted that she had recently served Aaron Alshaman with custody papers.
Canvassing the neighborhood, Rahn said he spoke with homeowner Tyler Miller, who had motion-activated Blink cameras. Miller pulled up the footage and Rahn said that at around 4:01 a.m., a person wearing a hood and holding what appears to be a gas can, they walk towards the Gudnay residence.
At 4:05 a.m., Rahn said the same individual carrying the gas can was running away from the Gudnay residence.
Getting back to the police department, Rahn said he advised his superiors about what he found and requested the automatic vehicle tracking log of Aaron Alshaman.
“We wanted to rule him out. We didn’t think an on-duty officer did this,” Rahn said.
32nd witness called
City Utica Police Department Investigator Mark Rahn was called to the stand at the start of the seventh day in the Alshaman trial to testify.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: More witnesses called in Alshaman attempted murder trial
Reporting by Casey Pritchard, Utica Observer Dispatch / Observer-Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Casey Pritchard, Utica Observer Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
