All Over Albany

Vega sentenced to maximum, Troy man found not guilty in death of toddler, shift in APD recruit training to focus on community policing

Vega sentenced
Gabriel Vega -- convicted of killing Vanessa Milligan, pregnant with his child, in Lansingburgh in 2014 and then setting fire to her apartment -- was sentenced to the maximum, 50 years in prison. Said Rensselaer County Court judge Andrew Ceresia: "This defendant deserves no mercy from the court, and he will get none." Vega's attorney said his client maintains his innocence in the case. Said Milligan's father of Vega: "This should be his funeral. This should be his demise. This should be the last day that he ever sees Troy." [TWCN] [Troy Record] [TU] [WNYT]

Acquittal in Troy 2 year old's death
Michael Davis -- accused of causing the death of a 2 year old in Troy last year -- was found not guilty of all charges. The prosecution had argued that Davis had squeezed the girl, causing internal injuries -- but Davis's attorney argued his client found the girl unresponsive and tried to resuscitate her. And he credited Davis's testimony on the stand for convincing the jury. [Troy Record] [TU] [WNYT]

Sheldon Silver
A federal judge's ruling Thursday allows Sheldon Silver to stay out of prison on bail while appealing his corruption conviction, which carried a 12-year sentence. [NYT]

Albany police training
The Albany Police Department is moving its new recruit training from the Zone 5 Police Academy to in-house training, which the police chief says will allow the department to focus the training on community policing principles. [TU]

787 in Cohoes
Officials from the state DOT and Cohoes unveiled upgraded pedestrian crossing signals along 787 in Cohoes Thursday -- and then promptly saw two people ignore the new signals and get temporarily stuck in the busy road mid-cross. Mayor Shawn Morse also continued his push to turn the road into a boulevard in the city. [News10] [TU] [TWCN]

Emma Willard settlement
The Emma Willard School has reached a settlement with the former student who said she was raped by a teacher in 1998 and then sent away from the school. [TU]

Plea deal related to Niskayuna High School thumb drive case
One of the former Niskayuna High School students accused of being involved with a thumb drive of images of students hidden in a library book has taken a plea deal on a separate charge that rose out of the initial investigation. [Daily Gazette]

Judge to public defender
"People with knowledge of the move" tell the Times Union that Albany County judge Stephen Herrick is set to step down from the bench and become the county's public defender. [TU+]

First female deputy chief
Maria Walker is set to become the Albany Fire Department's first female deputy chief when she's promoted Friday. [TU]

Saratoga Springs public meeting conduct
The Saratoga Springs finance commissioner is questioning the conduct rules for council meetings after contentious public comment interaction the led a person's removal from the meeting. [Saratogian]

Franklin Graham in Albany
Franklin Graham's "Decision America" prayer/political rally made a stop in Albany outside the Capitol Thursday, calling for the election of Christians to every level of political office. Among the counter protesters was Willie White of the Albany org A Village: "I called him a racist and a Trump supporter. Religion is supposed to bring us together and he was just interested in dividing us. I see him on Fox all the time." [TWCN] [TU]

Returned home after seven decades
The remains of Chatham man killed in the Pacific during WWII while serving as a Marine will be returned home Friday. [TU+]