Credit: Patrick Grego
Inside Columbia County Court, Judge Michael Howard presided over a brief hearing on Wednesday, May 29, in the case against David Passeri, a resident of Gallatin. The proceedings, which lasted less than five minutes, occured more than a month after Passeri’s initial April 24 court date. Passeri faces 17 felony counts of illegal firearms possession, charges brought in March by the Columbia County District Attorney’s office.
Passeri stood beside his new private defense attorney, Thomas K. Petro. Assistant District Attorney Cheryl Botts presented the initial discovery materials to the defense. Howard granted Petro one month to review the documents, scheduling the next hearing for June 24.
“Today’s conference was an opportunity for the court to see where we stood with discovery as the defendant has retained a private attorney,” said Botts. “We take this case very seriously based on the allegations presented and plan to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.”