Analyst: Suspect DNA on gun in dog-shooting case
QUEENSBURY — The gun that was fired at a Glens Falls house and killed a dog had the DNA of suspect Joshua Marcantonio on it, but not that of the man Marcantonio’s lawyer has tried to blame for the shooting.
That was the testimony of a DNA analyst Wednesday, as the jury in Marcantonio’s case heard from a variety of witnesses. Those witnesses included a man who was in the home when a shot was fired, and a Glens Falls police sergeant who encountered Marcantonio near the home moments after the shooting.
Forensic scientist Lisa Sheridan told the panel she tested evidence that included swabs taken from a shotgun and knives and found only Marcantonio’s DNA on them. His DNA was found in blood that was on the pistol grip of the shotgun, she testified.
Defense lawyer Jeffrey Matte, though, pointed out that there was evidence from the scene where DNA was found from an undetermined person.
Marcantonio is on trial for allegedly firing a blast from a 12-gauge shotgun through the front door of a Charlotte Street, Glens Falls apartment building last May 9, nearly hitting a resident and killing a dog.
Matte told the jury hearing the case during his opening statement Tuesday that it was the resident of the home with whom Marcantonio fought, Shannon Gilligan, who fired the shot from the home’s porch.
Glens Falls Police Sgt. Miguel Chico was among the first officers on the scene, and he reported that Marcantonio was near the home when officers arrived and had an injury to his right forearm that was bleeding.
The jury saw video from a body camera that Chico wore, in which Marcantonio replied “I don’t know” when he was asked how he was hurt, but no more statements from Marcantonio were heard. He did not accuse Gilligan of doing anything to him or firing the gun.
Warren County First Assistant District Attorney Matthew Burin pointed out that Gilligan had no blood on him at that point but reported he had broken eyeglasses and a cut on a finger when police found him in his apartment.
Gilligan, who is expected to testify Thursday, told police that Marcantonio was hanging out drinking wine and watching movies when he began acting erratically. After Marcantonio punched him in the face, he threw him out of the home, Gilligan said. Seconds later, he said, he saw Marcantonio walking toward the home with a gun, and a shot blew through the door and hit the dog.
Three people who were in the building when the 3 a.m. shooting occurred testified they heard nothing out of the ordinary before the shotgun blast.
Caleb Knobel was in an upstairs bedroom in Gilligan’s apartment, playing video games, when he heard a “thud” and a dog barking and crying. He said he went downstairs to find Gilligan in the kitchen, on the phone with a 911 dispatcher, and Gilligan warned him to stay away from the front of the building.
Two neighbors who live in the other half of the duplex where the shooting occurred reported hearing nothing unusual before the shot rang out.
Marcantonio faces eight charges for the shooting on Charlotte Street in Glens Falls. He is accused of firing a 12-gauge shotgun and killing a dalmatian named Sir Edwin who was inside on a couch.
Marcantonio, 30, has pleaded not guilty to three charges of attempted first-degree burglary as well as lesser felony counts of reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal mischief, and misdemeanor animal cruelty and criminal mischief.
Marcantonio was arrested in front of the home minutes after the shooting but did not give police a statement after the incident other than saying he didn’t know what happened.
He faces up to 15 years in state prison on the attempted burglary charges. Testimony is to resume Thursday morning, and the trial is expected to last through Friday.





