THE DAILY NEWS, Sep 18, 2021
By SCOTT DESMIT
In June, Jamie A. Dutton of Batavia was put on trial in Orleans County Court on charges that could have landed him in prison for up to 25 years.
He was found not guilty.
That wasn’t the end of Dutton’s travails. He was still facing attempted murder charges in Genesee County and his trial began Monday with jury selection.
After two days of testimony, a jury on Thursday acquitted Dutton, finding him not guilty of all charges: attempted murder, first-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon. Dutton was defended by attorney Michael Witmer. The case was prosecuted by District Attorney Lawrence Friedman.
Dutton, 29, had been accused of stabbing a man in the chest during a drug deal gone wrong outside the water plant on Lehigh Avenue in August 2020.
The victim suffered serious injuries.
A jury failed to find enough evidence that it was Dutton who committed the stabbing, as there were other people involved.
For Dutton, the verdict saved him a possible 25-year prison term.
Dutton was indicted in Orleans County in October and charged with first-degree burglary, second-degree assault and aggravated criminal contempt of court.
Police said he violated an order of protection and assaulted a woman after entering her house.
His trial in Orleans was the first since the COVID pandemic began.