What do a couple of borrowed eggs have to do with local courts, and the upcoming bail reform changes, which are admittedly complex?
Well, a 52-year-old Dundee man spent the better part of two weeks in jail waiting for an appearance in Yates County Court.
The Chronicle-Express reports that Karl B. Wilcox, 52, of Dundee, was arrested Nov. 17 by N.Y. State Police responding to a reported burglary at Highland Apartments in Dundee.
He was charged with third-degree burglary, a Class D felony, as well as petit larceny. The bail reform act set to take hold in a couple weeks would have meant that Wilcox would be freed on his own recognizance.
However, due to two other low-level felonies decades ago – he was held until an appearance in front of a County Court Judge.
Public Defender Katie Gosper asked for Wilcox to be released. “We’re talking about two eggs here,” she said in court, according to The Chronicle-Express.
Wilcox apparently had a friendly relationship with a neighbor at the complex, and they often borrowed items from each other freely. Something changed in that relationship though, and when Wilcox borrowed some eggs while she wasn’t home – the woman called police.
The Chronicle-Express reports that she wanted to press charges.
Former Ontario County District Attorney Michael Tantillo, who is serving as an Assistant District Attorney in Yates County called the reforms ‘the craziest thing’. That’s because even under the new law where police would have released Wilcox on appearance tickets – the local judge still would have had to remand him to jail pending a hearing in County Court.
Tantillo expects that there will be changes made to the law.
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