A recently concluded Seneca County grand jury has seemingly resulted in two criminal charges being filed against Fayette’s Charles R. Bowman, 47.
Bowman has been charged with criminal trespass in the third-degree and third-degree assault by the Seneca Falls Police Department around 3:56 p.m. earlier this afternoon.
In New York, criminal trespass in the third-degree is a class B misdemeanor while third-degree assault is a class A misdemeanor.
The charges were brought against him from an incident that occurred over a year ago when a violent brawl broke-out along State Route 89 after a press conference ended in Seneca Falls.
A handful of Cayuga men and allies cleared the yellow police tape onto a recently demolished site of taxed properties, which were owned in deed by the Cayuga Nation.
That’s when they encountered the Cayuga Nation Police Department, causing a violent altercation on Saturday, February 29, 2020.
Although no actions have been taken by any local or federal authorities until now, Bowman actually filed a civil suit against Pathfinders Solutions, an Indiana-based private security company, a few months before his indictment in early May.
In the detailed civil suit, several damages were claimed from that day, which led to Bowman requiring an ambulance ride to the Geneva General Hospital after being detained for nearly an hour by Cayuga Nation Police officers without being taken or transferred into custody of local or county law enforcement.
Bowman is supposed to appear in a town court “at a later date and time to answer the charges,” according to a SFPD press release.
Gabe covered health and indigenous affairs in the Finger Lakes between 2019 and 2022. His award winning coverage was cited by the federal government and provided residents with an invaluable service during the coronavirus pandemic.