State of New York v. Juhmir Arrington

Albany, New York, criminal defense lawyer represented the defendant charged with Attempted Murder in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree.

Juhmir Arrington, 31, shot and paralyzed a man during a fistfight that broke out in the shadows of Albany Medical Center Hospital.

The victim was looking to confront a friend of Arrington’s who had allegedly assaulted one of his brothers the day before. A fight between eight men erupted and Arrington could be seen on video grabbing a gun from inside a car. As the melee spilled into the parking lot behind CVS, Arrington raised a handgun and fired into the victim’s chest.

The bullet perforated the man’s stomach and pierced through his diaphragm and spine, paralyzing him from the waist down. Arrington then fired off two shots at close range, but the projectiles missed the man.

The victim’s friends and several bystanders ran to his aid and carried the man to a car. He was driven a short distance to Albany Med, where he underwent emergency surgery to save his life.

“Should he have gone there that day to fight the (man)?” Brucato said during closing arguments. “No. But he didn’t deserve to die that day. He didn’t deserve to spend his life in a wheelchair.”

“This was about the defendant bringing a gun to a fist fight,” Brucato said.

Arrington was remanded to the custody of the Albany County Correctional Facility until sentencing on March 9, when he faces up to 25 years in state prison.

The jury took just over an hour to return a guilty verdict.