Two RPI students are currently facing felony charges and a third is facing multiple misdemeanor counts. The alleged crimes and arrests all took place this month, although none of the incidents are connected.
At around 2 am on November 5, James Snow ’06 was allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol when his car struck another in Troy at the intersection of 5th Avenue and 103rd Street. According to media reports, while Snow was not seriously injured, the other car’s driver, 28-year-old Elizabeth A. Charnock, and her passenger, 27-year-old Michelle Genovese, were both injured.
According to Troy Police Detective Sgt. John Cooney, Genovese is recovering and is out of the hospital; Charnock, however, died one week later, after being taken off of life support. As a result, the charges against Snow were escalated and he is now being charged with second degree vehicular manslaughter, a class D felony, and is under house arrest. If convicted, the felony carries a three-to-nine-year sentence.
Cooney said that there was “clear evidence of imprudent speed” and that Snow admitted to drinking at the scene of the crash. His final BAC has not yet come back and Cooney said that the district attorney’s office has a six-month time frame before the charges must go to a grand jury. The grand jury, he pointed out, will also have the option of escalating the charge to criminally negligent homicide. Snow, who lives in Waterford, could not be reached for comment.
While there was an unrelated DWI arrest on campus last month, it did not involve a crash or injuries, and Dean of Students Mark Smith said that the last DWI incident of this magnitude was a 1989 crash that killed two RPI students and saw a former student charged with manslaughter.
Vice President for Student Life Eddie Knowles added, “We really have to understand that this stuff happens.” He pointed out that when the “Tree of Life” was lit this month, he alluded to this incident. The tree is lit annually with the hope that RPI will not lose anyone to a drunk or drugged driving crash.
In a separate incident, Craig Pratka ’06 was arrested for allegedly stabbing 25-year-old Doug Parron in front of I Love NY Pizza on Fourth Street in Troy. The alleged incident took place around 5 am Sunday, November 20.
Cooney explained that while there is no direct connection, there was a fight at a nearby bar where everyone was asked to leave. He said this may have led to escalated tensions on the street. He explained that the area is highly populated at that hour as it also has several other pizzerias.
According to Cooney, Parron went from critical to stable condition in 24 hours and is now out of the hospital. He stated that Pratka was found in possession of the knife and that witnesses indicated that the victim was stabbed in the upper torso. Pratka pled not guilty last Monday to a charge of assault in the first degree—a class B felony that has a minimum sentence of 12 years. He was also charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.
Pratka is currently out on $50,000 bail but declined to comment on the case. His lawyer could not be reached for comment. Smith said that while there could potentially be a student judicial case regarding this situation, there is none yet and stated, “I have no reason to believe that [Pratka] is a danger to anybody.”
Also on November 20, a student was arrested by Public Safety and then turned over to Troy Police in connection with an alleged burglary. David Whalen ’08 is charged with four misdemeanors—one count of possession of burglar tools, two counts of petty larceny, and one count of criminal mischief.
Cooney said that police reports indicated that two white males were seen looking through vehicles in the Stackwyck lot and one was seen standing inside of a car door. When asked to come out, the suspect, allegedly Whalen, fled and was chased by Public Safety and eventually taken into custody. Whalen declined to comment on the charges.
