Man pleads guilty to harassment after incident on Chinook Drive
CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this story, the circumstances surrounding the disturbance were misstated. Witness affidavits say the disturbance began after White was found on the floor of the apartment with a knife beside him. The Daily Orange regrets this error.
A Brooklyn man who was arrested March 27 on Chinook Drive pled guilty Tuesday afternoon to second-degree harassment.
Nicholas White, 19, was arrested after the Department of Public Safety received a call about a disturbance on Chinook Drive, which involved a physical struggle among several people and damage to property. White is not a Syracuse University student, but a senior in high school.
He appeared in Syracuse Domestic Violence Court with his attorney Robert Carter in front of City Court Judge Stephen Dougherty at about 2:30 p.m. White pled guilty to the harassment charges.
The disturbance began after White was found laying face down in the Chinook Drive apartment. There was a knife on the floor beside him, along with broken glass and overturned furniture, according to witness affidavits.
When students approached White, he began shouting and then a fight broke out between White and SU students, according to the witness affidavits.
White was given a two-year conditional discharge under the terms that he would have to follow an order of protection and that he would not be able to return to the city of Syracuse. The Syracuse Police Department has a mandatory arrest policy with domestic violence.
Dougherty said White would be released from jail on Tuesday and asked his mother, who also approached the stand during the discussion, if he had any reason to come back to the city. White’s mother said he did not and that she would be taking him back to Brooklyn.
Prosecutors seemed confused as to why White was in Syracuse. The SU student is White’s girlfriend of three years, Dougherty said.
Following the decision, Carter, White’s lawyer, said he also did not know why White was in Syracuse at the time of the incident but that the “best possible plan” for White is to get treatment once he’s back in Brooklyn.
–Staff Writer Dylan Segelbaum contributed reporting to this article.
Published on April 2, 2014 at 1:27 am
Contact Annie: apalme05@syr.edu