KINGSTON – The Ulster County grand jury has found insufficient
evidence to file criminal charges in connection with a shooting death
of a man who is said to have gone berserk and stabbed a number of people
in the Town of Plattekill back on June 27.
The incident occurred on Crescent Avenue in a private home at about 7:15
p.m. after police received several 911 calls of people inside being stabbed.
When officers arrived, they found Rodshan Pittman, 25, dead from a shotgun
would to the chest.
Three people inside had each been stabbed several times and required hospitalization.
One woman was in the hospital over two weeks with significant, potentially
fatal, stomach wounds.
Police investigation revealed Pittman, who knew each of the stabbing victims,
“went berserk” and, unprovoked, attacked his three friends
with a steak knife.
While a male victim struggled with Pittman, the females fled to a neighboring
apartment with an infant.
Pitman, of Highland, brandished the knife and tried to gain access to
the neighbor’s apartment and was shot at close range with a legally
possessed shotgun.
The autopsy revealed Pittman had ingested PCB and synthetic marijuana
before his death. A small amount of the synthetic pot was found on him
when police arrived.
Under New York State law, a person may use deadly force on another person
when he believes it to be necessary to defend himself or someone else
from what he reasonably believes to be the use of deadly physically force
by that individual.
District Attorney Holly Carnright said “it appeared that the shooting
was legally justified and no one was charged at the time of the incident
but I felt the appropriate path would be to present all of the facts to
an independent investigative body such as a grand jury to determine whether
criminal charges should be charged regarding the shooting.”
