OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
An assistant to New York Attorney General Letitia James may face criminal misdemeanor charges for vandalism, according to a report last week.
Assistant Attorney General Stacey Hamilton may face third-degree criminal tampering charges for purportedly damaging a neighbor’s car in November by throwing an unidentified liquid onto it.
Hamilton’s lawyer allegedly accused Albany County District Attorney David Soares’ office of “unfair treatment” despite the case being assigned to an independent special prosecutor.
In recent years, the office of James has gained national attention due to its investigation into former President Donald Trump’s alleged wrongdoings. The investigation resulted in a successful business fraud lawsuit against the ex-president, which culminated in a judgment of over $464 million, which has since been cut 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 cited court records that claim Hamilton doused “unknown liquids” in a neighbor’s car on November 16. Subsequently, the neighbor reported vandalism to the police, claiming that the liquid had ruined the paint on his car.
The girlfriend of the owner of the car had physically assaulted the assistant attorney general the same evening of the purported vandalism incident, according to Hamilton’s attorney, Kevin Gagan, who spoke to the newspaper. The girlfriend allegedly faces an assault misdemeanor 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 claimed that the vandalism complaint was fabricated to “get [Hamilton] arrested and to get into the papers to embarrass her so that she would drop the criminal case against this guy’s girlfriend—that’s the whole case.”
He also claimed that the office of Soares was “pulling the strings behind this” due to “maybe some personal animosity between” a former coworker of Hamilton who works in the office.
The office is not involved in Hamilton’s purported prosecution and told the paper that there was “absolutely no truth to claims of behind-the-scenes manipulation by any member of our office.”
When asked about a court document citing the tampering charge, Hamilton told The Times Union over the phone, “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.”
According to reports, the assistant attorney general, Hamilton, was supposed to attend a court hearing on Tuesday regarding the vandalism charges against her. Judge John Reilly of City Court has, however, moved the hearing to April 17.
In the event that she is convicted of third-degree criminal tampering, she could face up to 90 days in jail.
