September 9, 2015
HORNELL NY – Former Hornell Police Officer Jen Speed’s attorney, James Riotto Jr., has issued a statement today, about the upcoming trial of Jen Speed. Speed was accused of stealing about $15,000 from the Hornell Police Department’s evidence room, in 2013.
The statement in full, from Attorney James Riotto Jr:
On September 9, 2015 investigators with the Law Office of James L. Riotto II issued several subpoenas throughout Steuben County and other areas in preparation for the upcoming Jennifer A. Speed trial. Ms. Speed was arrested in December 2013 and charged with larceny of money from the Hornell Police Department Evidence Room. Ms. Speed maintains her innocence.
The served subpoenas are for all active and past members of the Hornell Police Department including Chief Theodore Murray and Investigator Thomas Aini. The subpoenas are mandates from the Court requiring all witnesses to appear and answer questions regarding this case.
At issue is approximately $15,000 seized from Stephen Brockway in 2012 by the Hornell Police Department. Officer Speed was not working on the date the money was seized and had no direct involvement in that case.
Police evidence procedures require a minimum two officers count money seized and then place it in a safe.
The defense still has been not provided any evidence supporting the charges filed against Officer Speed. A New York State Police Investigation did not lead to any arrests in this case.
Trial is set to begin Monday September 21, 2015 and all members of the Hornell Police Department are required to attend and be called as witnesses.
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The statement is seen again below, this time with responses from Steuben County District Attorney Brooks Baker, in Italics:
RIOTTO: On September 9, 2015 investigators with the Law Office of James L. Riotto II issued several subpoenas throughout Steuben County and other areas in preparation for the upcoming Jennifer A. Speed trial. Ms. Speed was arrested in December 2013 and charged with larceny of money from the Hornell Police Department Evidence Room. Ms. Speed maintains her innocence. The served subpoenas are for all active and past members of the Hornell Police Department including Chief Theodore Murray and Investigator Thomas Aini. The subpoenas are mandates from the Court requiring all witnesses to appear and answer questions regarding this case.
D.A. BROOKS BAKER: “Quite frankly, those two (Murray and Aini) are involved with the investigation, they testified at the Huntley or Suppression Hearing for statements that were made to them by Officer Speed. They (Murray and Aini) are on our witness list as well, he knows that. So it’s not really a surprise that those two folks are being subpoenaed, They have some knowledge, and have some contact with this case. So it would make sense that they would be subpoenaed,” said Baker. “I’m not sure why other folks are being subpoenaed.”
RIOTTO: At issue is approximately $15,000 seized from Stephen Brockway in 2012 by the Hornell Police Department. Officer Speed was not working on the date the money was seized and had no direct involvement in that case.
BAKER: “That’s not necessarily true. She was the evidence custodian and there is some indication she had contact with the evidence. There’s testimony that’s before a grand jury on that point. So there was some contact with the money by her, throughout this process. And the other thing that he’s (Riotto) missing here is that this case isn’t just about the theft of that money, it’s about tampering of evidence. There were official Hornell Police Department forms that were tampered with by Miss Speed,” said Baker. “Just the grand larceny isn’t the only issue here.”
RIOTTO: Police evidence procedures require a minimum two officers count money seized and then place it in a safe.
BAKER: That’s not my understanding of Hornell Police Procedure,” Baker told WLEA News. “But I’m not sure where they’re (the defense) getting that information from.”
RIOTTO: The defense still has been not provided any evidence supporting the charges filed against Officer Speed.
BAKER: Well, the reality is, we have provided Mr. Riotto with everything which is subject to discovery under Article 240. We have also provided him with a bunch of other discovery materials.
RIOTTO: A New York State Police Investigation did not lead to any arrests in this case.
BAKER: This case did not culminate with a state police investigation. We had the state police do an underlying investigation,” said Baker. “So that’s a true statement, but it’s also somewhat misleading. It doesn’t mean that there wasn’t sufficient evidence for State Police to make an arrest. What it means is, in this situation, we presented all the evidence the state police gathered to a grand jury and they decided what charges should be filed. It’s the same thing we do with a lot of sealed indictment cases.”
