After 35 witnesses and almost two weeks of testimony, the fate of former Oneida County Sheriff’s Deputy Aaron Alshaman is in the hands of the jury.
Aaron Alshaman stood before Judge Robert Bauer at the Oneida Courthouse in Utica on June 25, the eighth day of trial. 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. He 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.
Defense makes closing statements
Much like in opening statements, Defense Attorney John Leonard said that the prosecution didn’t have any direct evidence that tied Alshaman to the crime or the crime scene and through the “…power of suggestion” wanted the jury to believe that he was the one who was guilty.
“Because he was going through neighborhoods, the prosecution said he was ‘scoping it out,'” Alshaman said. “They want you to believe that he was going through the area to scope it out… And they said he searched the address twice. I asked if it showed he got directions. I asked if it showed he used the map. They said no. Could they find they out? Yes. But they didn’t.”
Leonard pointed to several other instances he said showed the prosecution were “tunnel-visioned” on Alshaman, such as the fact that no search warrant had been filed to find the gas can that prosecution pointed out in surveillance footage or that the prosecution didn’t canvas another street that Alshaman went down looking for the suspicious man on the bicycle.
Leonard told the jury the prosecution needed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Alshaman was responsible for the arson, but did not accomplish that.
Prosecution makes final argument
Carville said to the jury that they shouldn’t give Alshaman a reprieve because he was a police officer and that what he was doing was calculated.
“This wasn’t a snap, this was a build up,” Carville said. “When I got this case and I got the facts, I thought ‘who would do this to their own child?’ Until I learned who he was. The uniform of the officer is just a costume to him. Evil. Selfish. Calculating. Someone who doesn’t see that as a human being.”
Carville continued, saying Alshaman only visited his son once and not because he wanted to because he had just gone to court.
“And he knows that if he goes to court, he has to pay more money. And money is the root of all evil. When money is the only source of joy, you can do anything. Even set fire to house with your son,” Carville said. “He went to visit because it was monetarily beneficial. And it worked. He only had to pay $600 a month.”
“And he knows that if he goes to court, he has to pay more money. And money is the root of all evil. When money is the only source of joy, you can do anything. Even set fire to house with your son,” Carville said. “He went to visit because it was monetarily beneficial. And it worked. He only had to pay $600 a month.”
Carville continued to point at numerous instances in the texts where Alshaman bemoaned his financial situation, how he had a negative statement in his bank account a few times already, and angrily wrote to Jennifer Gudnaya when she informed him of paperwork.
“I’m already giving you $1,000 a month, what more do you want?” Alshaman wrote in the text messages. This, Carville said, showed that Alshaman’s main concern was money and the motive for the crime.
With the outcome of the trial in the jury’s hands, there is no sign of when it will reach a verdict.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Alshaman attempted murder trial goes to jury
Reporting by Casey Pritchard, Utica Observer Dispatch / Observer-Dispatch
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By Casey Pritchard, Utica Observer Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
