NORWICH – A man charged with 12 felonies in connection with a fatal drug shoot-out appeared in court Friday after having one of his charges dismissed because of a change in state law.
James F. Bush, Burdick-Medbury Road, Town of Norwich, is charged with multiple gun felonies and one of the counts was dropped because of a recent legislature repeal, said District Attorney Joseph McBride.
Bush’s defense attorney, Thomas Cline, asked that several other counts on the indictment be reviewed by the court for dismissal, citing possible procedural discrepancies in their presentation to the grand jury.
McBride said he could not recall the specifics of the prosecution presentation made in September, but said his office follows a strict set of guidelines and had participated in similar grand jury proceedings many times before without incident.
“Your honor, I will let the grand jury minutes speak for themselves,” said McBride. The grand jury minutes are a detailed transcript kept during the indictment process that is a written record of anything presented to the jury.
Judge W. Howard Sullivan said he would review the transcripts but would not be able to hear the eventual resolution to many of the arguments being offered. Starting next year, Chenango County criminal cases will be heard by Supreme Court Justice Kevin M. Dowd.
Bush is accused of aiding another man, Joshua D. Richheimer of Pittsfield, in an attempted robbery of a local drug dealer. The incident led to a gun battle and the death of Richheimer July 24.
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