A second trial for a Batavia man accused of firing a shotgun at two people on Elm Street on Aug. 12 will start on Monday.
The first trial of Jeremy Ives began in March and ended in a mistrial. The reason for the mistrial was not discussed in open court on Friday during a hearing held for trial preparation.
Ives was indicted in September on two counts of attempted assault in the first degree, a Class C violent felony, kidnapping in the second degree, a Class B violent felony, criminal use of a firearm in the first degree, a Class B violent felony, two counts of criminal use of a firearm in the second degree, a Class C violent felony, and menacing in the second degree, a Class A misdemeanor.
Ives is accused of attempting to cause serious physical injury to a person using a shotgun in the City of Batavia on Aug. 12. He is accused of abducting another person on that same day.
In January, Ives turned down a plea offer, electing to take his case to trial. ADA Will Zickl said at the time that under the terms of the offer, the counts against Ives would be reduced to a single count of attempted assault in the first degree, a Class C violent felony. Ives, who has a prior DWI conviction, would admit to the charge as a second-felony offender.
He would have been facing a possible sentence of five to 15 years.
If convicted at trial, Ives faces a sentence of nine to 25 years in prison.
The main issues discussed on Friday were the testimony of two possible witnesses.
One witness is the person Ives may have purchased the shotgun from. There is a question about whether the witness can positively identify Ives as the person who bought the gun. A third party apparently arranged the transaction and handed the seller the money.
"She doesn't have to know his name to know she handed him the gun," Zickl said.
There is also a witness who claims to have heard Ives yelling things in the street outside her residence some three hours after the reported shooting. Whatever statements she heard are apparently not relevant to the case, but Zickl argued that her testimony will enlighten the jury as to Ives' emotional after the shooting.
Defense attorney Joseph Lobosco argued that the witness was miles away, hours after the event, didn't see Ives while he was yelling, and had no context for what she heard.
Zickl countered that the witness, who apparently knows Ives, can ID Ives by his voice.
Judge Melissa Lightcap Cianfrini ruled that both witnesses can be called during the trial.
