ALBANY – A city man who was facing 25 years in state prison if convicted of stabbing his roommate in the abdomen on Second Avenue last summer has been acquitted on all charges after his attorneys argued it was a case of self defense.
An Albany County jury deliberated for less than two hours before finding Harvey Forrest, 50, not guilty of attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault and possession of a weapon in the Aug. 7, 2022 incident in 466 Second Ave., his attorney told the Times Union.
Assistant public defenders Rebekah Sokol and Jonathan Stroble presented evidence to show Forrest’s roommate had previously beaten Forrest and threatened his life. On the day of the stabbing, Sokol said, the roommate tried to sexually assault and kill Forrest.
“We were able to show that Harvey was terrified of his roommate and was justified in using a small camping knife to push the roommate off of him and save his own life,” Sokol said following the verdict on June 26.
“We are ecstatic that the jury agreed with us that Harvey acted in self defense, and that after months of being incarcerated on these charges, Harvey is finally vindicated and being reunited with his family,” Sokol said. “Harvey sobbed as the verdict was read, and wrapped me in a hug as the jury left. Seeing him enter the courthouse that morning in shackles and leave an exonerated, free man will forever be one of the highlights of my career.”
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Seema Iyer. In May, County Judge Andra Ackerman, who presided over the trial, scolded Iyer at a pre-trial hearing for a response to a defense bail application. Sokol had asked for a trial delay and for the judge to lower Forrest’s bail from $100,000 bond to $40,000, saying that prosecutors had not provided the defense with the roommate’s mental health-related hospital records.
Iyer suggested that Sokol’s bail…
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