With every day that goes by in the City of Utica, police seem to be arresting more and more young people for violent crimes. Recently, a shots fired investigation led to the arrest of 6 individuals under the age of 21. The youngest of the 6 was a 17-year-old juvenile.

Many feel this problem of youth violence stems from laws passed in Albany like "Raise the Age," but whatever the reason is a solution is far from sight. Utica Police officials announced the arrests Thursday following a lengthy investigation by the UPD Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) Unit.

According to officials, back on June 29th at approximately 12:40 a.m. officers responded to the area of Broadway Street between Columbia and Court Streets for a "shots fired" investigation. The scene of this incident is walking distance from the new Wynn Hospital. Upon arrival officers noticed a large group present and during their initial canvas of the area, learned an argument had occurred and someone had fired several rounds from a weapon at other individuals, according to police.

At that time, police say the investigation was handed over to the Utica Police GIVE Unit and they got to work. Through surveillance footage and over the course of several interviews, police say investigators established their suspect. It wasn't until July 10th, 2024 that members of the GIVE Unit were parked at the intersection of Oneida Street and Pleasant Avenue. While parked officers noticed their suspect in the forementioned shots fired incident and another party wanted on an outstanding warrant exit a vehicle. Upon noticing police, officers say the two young men and four others in the vehicle fled on foot.

Police say backup was called in as a pursuit began and eventually all 6 individuals were taken into custody without much incident. It was also learned by police during the subsequent pursuit and arrest that the vehicle the 6 males exited had been stolen from Clinton Place in Utica back on June 27th.

In the end the following individuals were arrested and are facing a number of charges.

Richard Jones (19) of Utica - Suspect in June 29th Shots Fired Investigation
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree
Criminal Possession of a Firearm
Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree
Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle
Unidentified 17-Year-Old Juvenile
Oneida County Family Court Warrant
Obstruction of Governmental Administration
Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle
Jaddell Maddox (18) of Utica
Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle
Hylek Lacy (18) of Utica
Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle
Shamar Williams (19) of Utica
Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle
Jisiel Hunt (18) of Utica
Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle

Credit is owed to the members of this important Utica Police unit and hopefully they continue to safely remove illegal firearms and dangerous individuals from our streets.

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If you ever wondered what type of crime is most common in New York State, personal injury law firm Gruber Law Offices found out exactly that.

Using the latest statistics from the United States Bureau of Justice, they identified the 5 crimes that are reported most in the state.

Gallery Credit: Megan

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Below are individuals wanted by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision's (DOCCS) Office of Special Investigations who have been designated as its Most Wanted Fugitives. They should be considered armed and dangerous. This list is current as of 7/01/2024:

NEVER attempt to apprehend a fugitive yourself. If you have information on the location of any of these fugitives, you can contact OSI 24 hours a day / 7 days a week to report it. All leads and tips are treated as confidential information.

If an immediate response is necessary, such as you see the wanted person at a location, please call “911” and report it to the police.

Gallery Credit: Dave Wheeler

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Gallery Credit: Credit - Polly McAdams