By Andrew Amelinckx
Appeared in The Register-Star, January 30, 2008
A cacophony of angry voices erupted in the Columbia County courtroom of Judge Paul Czajka when the jury forewoman in the murder trial of Patrick L. Green and Andrew J. Barnhill III read the verdict. “Not guilty,” she said of both defendants. Green, 20, of Alpharetta, Ga., formerly of Albany and Barnhill, 22, of Albany, formerly of Hudson, were facing second degree murder charges in the shooting death of Fruquan Veeney, 26, of Hudson. Veeney, known as “Rah,” was shot and killed at the intersection of Dodge Street and Rope Alley in Hudson on Nov. 10, 2006.
After 30 minutes of deliberatons Tuesday morning, the jury returned the verdict. The jury deliberated for seven hours on Monday before retiring for the night.
When the verdict was read the victim’s mother, Deirdre Veeney, became distraught and had to be assisted out of the courtroom by police officers. After the trial the friends and family of Veeney gathered outside. “Can’t get justice in Hudson,” shouted Barbara Veeney, the widow of the slain man.
Green’s family as well as the jurors were escorted to their cars by members of the Columbia County Sheriff’s Department and Hudson Police after the trial ended. “It came down to whether the jury believed the witnesses,” said HPD Lt. Richard Paolino, standing outside the courthouse. “The jury made their decision.”
“The investigation was extremely thorough,” said Paolino after the three-day trial.He said that HPD and the NYS Police did extensive work on the case and that “for whatever reason” some evidence was not allowed in trial. “The prosecution did a terrific job with what they had to utilize,” he said. He added that he felt the local media, in characterizing witnesses in an unfavorable way, could “hurt future investigations” by scaring off potential witnesses.
“We do the best we can with the evidence we have. We can’t chose our witnesses, manufacture evidence or make people come forward,” said Columbia County District Attorney Beth Cozzolino. She said that she understood that HPD would be disappointed by the verdict because they had spent so much time and effort on the case. “We respect the jury’s verdict and applaud the time and effort they employed in rendering their verdict,” she said. Attorney AnnWeaver, who was representing Barnhill, and Richard Mott, Green’s attorney, agreed. Mott said that the “decisive” jury concluded that the testimonies of “the lowest of the low” in society couldn’t be believed.
“It was a smart, conscientious, thorough jury,” said Weaver, “It renewed my confidence in the jury system in Columbia County.” Both witnesses, Patrick O’Grady Boylan, 54, and Brian Morrill, 39, have extensive police records.
“It was 12:50 at night. It’s not you and me at the family barbecue,” Paolino later told the Register-Star concerning the two men. Boylan and Morrill, who were subpoenaed to testify, said they were near the crime scene just before 1 a.m., Nov. 10, 2006.
“I had just come out of 528 State Street,” Boylan began in his testimony Friday, “I was walking towards Fifth Street.” Boylan then testified that he saw Veeney being chased by the defendants.
He said he didn’t know Green by name, only as “P,” but later learned his name from the newspapers. Boylan said he has known Barnhill for “about 20 years” since Barnhill was little and said he had known Green “for about a year.”
He said he saw “Rah” running down the alley, heard gunshots and saw “flashes of light” coming from either side of the alley.
“[Veeney] was running. He stopped running when he got hit in the back,” said Boylan. Boylan said he jumped behind a Dumpster when the shooting started and watched from there. “I saw Patrick Green go up to the body,” he said adding that he then saw Pair
Green allegedly unload his weapon into Veeney. He also testified that he had seen the three men together the afternoon before the shooting and that they were “arguing.” Boylan said he saw a white pick-up truck nearby that night, “behind State Street.”
Morrill, the second witness for the prosecution testified that he had borrowed a white truck from a friend of his in Catskill, where he was living, to go meet a drug connection in Hudson on the night of Nov. 9, 2006 and that just before 1 a.m. he was at State and Dodge streets and had just exited the vehicle when he heard shots ring out.
“I could compare it to firecrackers. One was louder than the other,” he said. He walked to the intersection. “I saw someone standing there. I recognized him to be [Green],” said Morrill. Morrill said that afterwards he went and sat in his vehicle. “I didn’t know what to do,” he said. He left and went back to Catskill. Both defense attorneys built their case around the veracity of the witnesses’ testimonies in regards to their criminal histories. Mott spent close to two hours cross-examining Boylan on Friday, minutely going over Boylan’s criminal past. Under cross-examination Boylan admitted that he had “thought about” robbing the body of Veeney, but hadn’t gone through with it. A few minutes later Mott asked why Boylan hadn’t immediately gone to the police. “It’s not my business,” he answered.
Boylan admitted that he had sold crack and cocaine in the past along with admitting to a litany of trespassing and other charges. Mott continued asking Boylan about his history as well as his relationship with the other witness, Morrill. The two had been in the Columbia County jail together after the murder. “Did you ever talk with Brian Morrill?” asked Mott. “I didn’t like him,” answered Boylan, “Maybe we said ‘Hello.’” Mott, in cross-examination with Morrill, delved into Morrill’s criminal history, which began with a burglary arrest in 1994.
Morrill is currently out on bail and said he expects to get a prison term of from three to six years for charges in Greene County. Mott at one point asked Morrill about whether he had a weapon on him while he was in the truck. Morrill answered that he “didn’t have a gun.”
When asked why he hadn’t reported it to the police Morrill said that “how I was raised that’s not what you do.”
Morrill admitted that the reason he came forward was in hopes of getting a lighter sentence, but said that he was told it wouldn’t help him in regards to his charges in Greene County.
Senior Assistant District Attorney David Costanzo, who was assisted in the case by Assistant District Attorney Tracy Lindauer, admitted in his opening statement that the two witnesses to the crime both had criminal records, pending charges and had substance abuse problems, but that the jurors needed to “look at the evidence” and not rush to judgment. “He drinks alcohol and smokes marijuana on occasion... but he witnessed the murder of Fruquan Veeney,” Costanzo said of Boylan in his closing statement. Costanzo went on to say that Boylan’s testimony was comprised of details that he wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t been there, including that the gun used was a revolver and that Veeney had been shot in the back. “Patrick Boylan knew both defendants by sight,” he added
Pathologist Dr. Michael Sikirica described the paths the four separate bullets, two of which entered Veeney’s body through the back. NYS Police Sgt. James Campbell said he was able to determine that the projectiles came from a Smith and Wesson 44. Magnum revolver. Campbell testified as well to the fact that a .44 Magnum would produce a muzzle flash in the dark.
Costanzo brought up the issue of whether his witnesses had been given a deal for their testimonies. “There has been a lot of speculation and insinuation,” he said of the defense attorneys’ questions concerning whether deals were struck. “The facts don’t show it.,” he insisted, adding “There were no deals.” The defense had called two witnesses, Attorney Michael Howard and Antonio Fischer, on Monday to try and discredit Boylan and Morrill.
Boylan, who has three pending charges in Hudson City Court, including a possession of marijuana charge — a violation, trespassing and harassment, which are misdemeanors, said he had not been promised anything, nor given anything, in return for his testimony.
Howard testified that he ran into Boylan on Jan. 22 at Hudson court and asked him how he was doing. “I’ll be doing better after the trial. They told me they would dismiss this bull s—t after the trial,” Howard said Boylan told him.
During cross-examination Howard said that he had represented both Green and Boylan, but was not currently representing either man. Fischer, who is currently serving time at the Greene County jail, testified that Morrill asked him if he knew who had killed Veeney and what had happened. “I told him I didn’t know because I was in jail when all that happened,” said Fischer. Costanzo, during crossexamination asked Fischer if he knew the defendants. He answered that he had known Barnhill all is life and that Green was “cool” and that he had known him for about three years, but that he wouldn’t lie for either.