June 26, 2023 at 2:12 p.m.
Overdose death trial delayed due to witness issues
In a letter to Oneida County circuit judge Mary Burns filed June 21, assistant district attorney Mary Sowinski asked that Jasmine Lariviere's reckless homicide trial be adjourned.
Lariviere, 24, was scheduled to stand trial next month in connection with the death of Dylan Polinski back in April 2022. However, while preparing for a motion hearing in the case, Sowinski explained that she discovered information that required her to request an adjournment.
In court Friday morning, during what was scheduled to be a hearing on a pair of defense motions, Sowinski explained that witness availability issues prompted her request for postponement.
A key investigator is scheduled to be out of the country to attend a wedding and another witness is expected to travel out of the area to participate in a training session, she said.
In addition, Sowinski noted that the DNA analysts on the state's witness list are scheduled to testify in other trials next month, thus their availability for this trial cannot be confirmed.
Sowinski stressed that she wanted to try the case as scheduled but cannot "in good conscience" move forward without all of the necessary witnesses.
Lariviere is one of two individuals charged with first-degree reckless homicide (drug delivery) related to Polinski's death.
Her codefendant, Malik Jones, 24, is serving a prison sentence of 3 1/2 years, to be followed by eight years extended supervision, after accepting a plea agreement with the Oneida County district attorney's office in April.
Pursuant to the plea agreement, Jones pled guilty to the first-degree reckless homicide charge as well as possession of narcotics and schedule IV drugs with intent to deliver.
As part of the agreement, he also agreed to testify truthfully should Lariviere's case go to trial.
The two were charged last September after toxicology results showed Polinski, 29, died from fentanyl toxicity.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid analgesic 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine.
According to the criminal complaints, shortly after Polinski died police received information indicating a crime may have occurred and that Jones and Lariviere might have been involved. Law enforcement later obtained a warrant to place a GPS device on the couple's vehicle and track their movements.
The two were arrested in early May 2022 following a traffic stop. At the time, they were under bond and/or probation conditions prohibiting them from having any contact.
Various amounts and types of illicit substances were found in the vehicle during the traffic stop, including pills located inside Lariviere's purse. According to the complaints, the pills matched the description of the pill Lariviere and Jones told police they delivered to Polinski. The pills were sent to the state crime lab for testing and came back positive for the presence of fentanyl, according to the complaint.
According to testimony offered during Jones' preliminary hearing, Jones and Lariviere purchased what they were told were Percocet pills from a contact outside of the area and traveled to Oneida County to deliver one of the pills to Polinski.
The police interviews indicate Jones and Lariviere believed the pills were Percocet but were aware that there were "fake Percocet" pills circulating at the time.
Earlier this month, defense attorney Antoni Apollo filed two motions in advance of the trial. In a motion to suppress, the defense is seeking to bar prosecutors from using statements Lariviere made to police following the May 2022 traffic stop. In the second motion, the defense is seeking to be allowed to argue that a third-party perpetrator gave Polinski the drugs that ended his life. That motion names two individuals described as associates of Polinski.
In court Thursday, Burns granted Sowinski's request to adjourn the trial but stated that she does intend to preside over the motion hearing and rule on the motions.
"I do think that I should hear these motions because I've been on the case from the beginning," she said.
The motion hearing is now scheduled for 1:30 p.m. July 18.
Burns will not preside over the trial, whenever it is rescheduled, because she is leaving office in a matter of weeks. She was appointed to fill the remainder of Judge Patrick O'Melia's term which ends on July 31. O'Melia retired last summer after 15 years on the bench.
Burns sought to hold on to the seat but Oneida County district attorney Mike Schiek prevailed when the two ran against each other in the April election. Schiek was the lead prosecutor in the Lariviere case until this month when Sowinski took over so that he can prepare to take the bench on Aug. 1.
During Thursday's hearing, Sowinski advised the court that Polinski's family was strongly opposed to the adjournment of the trial. She also stated that the family had requested the issue of bond be revisited given the delay.
While the defense had no objection to the postponement of the trial, Apollo strongly opposed any type of bond modification. He stressed that Lariviere has been present for all court appearances and there is no cause to make a change.
With no evidence of a violation, Burns said she would not modify the $5,000 cash bond previously posted.
The hearing ended with Sowinski requesting that the process of assigning a new judge to preside over the trial be expedited if at all possible.
Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].
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