It was reported last week that Assistant Attorney General Stacey Hamilton could potentially be charged with third-degree criminal tampering for allegedly damaging a neighbor’s car by throwing an unidentified liquid on it in November. Despite the case being handled by an independent special prosecutor, Hamilton’s lawyer has accused Albany County District Attorney David Soares’ office of unfair treatment.
The office of New York Attorney General Letitia James has garnered national attention in recent years for its investigation into former President Donald Trump’s alleged misconduct, resulting in a successful business fraud lawsuit against him. The judgment initially amounted to over $464 million, but has since been reduced to $175 million.
“However, the purported charge against Hamilton is entirely unrelated to Trump, instead involving an alleged dispute or incident between the assistant attorney general and her neighbor,” Newsweek reported.
“Hamilton, who has worked for multiple state government agencies in the Empire State, denied to The Times Union that she had been charged with any crime, purportedly telling the paper’s reporter over the phone that they ‘really need to actually do some investigating,’” the outlet added.
The Times Union reported that court documents revealed Hamilton allegedly poured “unidentified liquids” on a neighbor’s vehicle on November 16, resulting in the neighbor filing a vandalism report with the police due to the damage caused to the car’s paint.
As per Hamilton’s lawyer, Kevin Gagan, the car owner’s girlfriend reportedly physically attacked the assistant attorney general on the same night as the alleged vandalism incident. The girlfriend is said to be facing a misdemeanor assault charge.
Assistant to Letitia James faces misdemeanor charge in Albany City Court
Stacey Hamilton faces vandalism-related charge; her attorney claims she's being treated unfairly by David Soares' office — although it has handed case to a special prosecutorhttps://t.co/p5tJiBbxOM
— CapBlackSafety (@CapBlackSafety) March 30, 2024
Letitia James' assistant may face charge of criminal tampering. Assistant New York Attorney General Stacey Hamilton was charged with a misdemeanor in Albany County. https://t.co/8QovkrBgzw
— Frank Stephens ~ Constitutionalist (@FrankStephens5) March 29, 2024
Gagan alleged that the vandalism complaint was concocted in order to have [Hamilton] detained and to attract media attention in order to humiliate her into withdrawing the criminal charges against the girlfriend of the individual involved—that is the crux of the matter.
He contend that Soares’ office was “pulling the strings behind this” due to “maybe some personal animosity between” a former coworker working in the office.
The office has no part in Hamilton’s alleged prosecution and informed the newspaper that there is “absolutely no truth to claims of behind-the-scenes manipulation by any member of our office.”
Hamilton also mentioned, “You clearly require some investigation and some update in your knowledge” because the document did not mean she was “charged with something.”
“It’s a piece of paper. Do you understand what words mean?” Hamilton said. “I understand what’s written on a piece of paper… If you do anything else with false information other than asserting it to me on the phone, you better be real careful.”
Reports indicate that the assistant attorney general, Hamilton, was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday to address vandalism charges. Nevertheless, Judge John Reilly of City Court has rescheduled the hearing for April 17. If found guilty of third-degree criminal tampering, she may potentially be sentenced to a maximum of 90 days in jail.