POUGHKEEPSIE – The gallery in Dutchess County Court Judge Edward McLoughlin’s courtroom heard now-retired City of Poughkeepsie Police Officer Devin Zanin tell of how Jalil Smith nearly killed her partner, Sergeant Edward Acken, by stabbing him in the neck while also administering career-ending injuries to her on November 7, 2020. Smith was convicted in September of this year and was present in the courtroom for sentencing on Wednesday.
Smith, 35, spent time in a mental institution following the attack, McLoughlin noted, and the experts there deemed Smith was fit to stand trial. His attorney, Alex Rosen, vigorously defended his client noting that had his client been treated for the bipolar and schizophrenic disorders Smith allegedly has, the attacks would not have occurred.
Smith had been charged with the attempted murder of a police officer after he stabbed Sgt. Acken in the neck with a screwdriver. The jury found him not guilty of that charge but convicted him of aggravated assault and assault for his actions against Acken and also convicted him of criminal possession of a weapon for the screwdriver he used. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the aggravated assault, seven years for assaulting Acken, and three-and-one-half to seven years for the weapons charge. All of the sentences are to run concurrently.
Smith was also sentenced to seven years in prison for assaulting Officer Zanin. That seven-year sentence is to run consecutively to the other sentences handed down by tthe judge.
The convicted felon has been in the custody of the Dutchess County Jail while awaiting sentencing. During his county incarceration, he was arrested by jail officials for assaulting a fellow inmate. He is scheduled to appear in the City of Poughkeepsie court on December 15.
McLoughlin offered praise for the cops who were involved, telling the courtroom that Zanin saved her partner and, through their restraint and training, both Acken and Zanin saved Smith’s life by not using deadly force.
