GLOVERSVILLE – Authorities are seeking the public’s help in identifying possible suspects in the 2010 homicide of Brian Morrison in Gloversville.
At a news conference this morning, Gloversville Police Detective Sgt. Michael Jory said a new witness has come forward and has given the description of two males Morrison was seen having an altercation with on Bleecker Street the night of his stabbing death July 6, 2010.
The first man was described as wearing a baseball hat, a long-sleeve Army-style jacket with button and cuff at the sleeve and his collar up, Jory said. The person’s face wasn’t seen by the witness and police can’t determine the person’s race or ethnicity at this time.
Jory said the second male was described as white, standing off to the side of Morrison, and wearing a T-shirt and shorts.
Both men were positioned around Morrison in what the witness described as a “suspicious manner,” Jory said. All three men were yelling back and forth, Jory said.
Although Gloversville Police Chief Donald VanDeusen was unable to attend the conference, he provided the following prepared statement:
“We continue to follow up on any and all leads that are either brought to our attention or are developed by this department. We will continue to do so as long as it takes to bring this case to a resolution. At this time, we are not going to comment on any specific person or persons of interest in this case, other than to say that nobody previously investigated in this case has been ruled out as a person of interest.”
Fulton County District Attorney Louise Sira said the first man’s heavy clothing would have stood out because there was a heat wave at that time.
“It has been two and a half years and we are still looking for answers,” Brian Morrison’s widow, Rebecca Morrison, said during the news conference. “If anyone knows anything, please call.”
Sira said the keys to the case are the witnesses who lived on Bleecker Street at that time. She said there was a lot of activity on the street that night.
Morrison, 42, who lived in Johnstown, was fatally stabbed while walking home from a Gloversville bar, authorities said. Morrison was found stabbed in the neck on Bleecker Street after midnight.
Derek A. “Deke” Kenney of Mayfield initially was charged with second-degree murder in the case on July 9, 2010, but authorities later dismissed the charges after Kenney’s attorneys argued grand-jury proceedings against Kenney were tainted because some witnesses lied. Kenney has since sued authorities, claiming his rights were violated.
Last June, authorities charged Derrick R. Paul of St. Johnsville in the case. Paul was charged with robbery and assault for allegedly robbing Morrison the night of July 6, 2010, before Morrison was found stabbed. Paul was not charged in the stabbing. Paul pleaded not guilty to the charges and has been awaiting trial.
Paul is scheduled for trial April 8 in Fulton County Court.
Orlando Rodriguez was with Paul that night and was arrested on Nov. 1, 2012, and charged with tampering with physical evidence, officials said. His case is pending in Fulton County Court.
Anyone with information about the two unidentified men is advised to call Gloversville police at 725-4569 or the Fulton County crime tips hot line at 736-5561.
An indictment alleges Paul punched Morrison in the jaw, rendering him unconscious, and stole his wallet. The indictment further alleges Paul hid the wallet, which had no money in it, then destroyed it by burning it. Paul at the time was living in an apartment on Bleecker Street.
Three women were previously convicted of lying and withholding information in the case.
Kayla Bowman, Rebecca Abraham and Stephanie Moore all received jail sentences.
Sira said the three women lied to police and omitted facts.
After Kenney’s arrest, he spent four months in jail, but on Oct. 26, 2010, the indictment against him was dismissed after Kenney’s defense argued the grand jury proceedings against him were tainted because witnesses lied.
In July, Kenney sued in federal court through his attorney, Elmer Robert Keach III, claiming his rights were violated.
Last month, Keach filed a court memo against the defendants’ most recent request for a delay of the case, arguing the defendants have tried to stymie the lawsuit by claiming it could interfere with an ongoing homicide investigation.
“In effect, the defendants had requested an indefinite stay of this case based on their continued ‘investigation’ of Mr. Kenney,” Keach wrote, going on to criticize the Police Department and the Fulton County District Attorney’s office for failing to arrest another suspect.
