ROCHESTER – Next month, the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office will push to overturn a suppression of evidence decision in the trial of a Jamestown man accused of setting several fires in 2017.
On Monday, December 2, Assistant District Attorney Michael Flaherty is scheduled to appear before New York State’s 4th Appellate Division to argue the appeal of a ruling that suppressed evidence against Jamestown native Jonathan Young.
In April, Chautauqua County Court Judge David Foley ruled that evidence gathered by police in Pennsylvania is inadmissible against Young in his New York trial.
Specifically, Pennsylvania detectives questioned Young about one of the arson cases that occurred in Jamestown, and New York prosecutors want to use those statements as evidence.
Foley ruled that Young waived his right to an attorney during the discussion only for the Pennsylvania charges and not the New York charges.
Young is accused of setting more than a dozen fires in the Jamestown area in March 2017.
He was indicted by a Chautauqua County Grand Jury on two counts of second-degree arson, 11 counts of third-degree arson, one count of fifth-degree arson and 11 counts of second-degree criminal mischief.
Young previously accepted a plea deal for stealing a vehicle in Warren County, Pennsylvania and setting a fire in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
Jury selection in Young’s New York trial is on hold until a decision is made by the State Appellate Division.
Young is represented by the Chautauqua County Public Defender’s Office.
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