One of the men charged in the grisly quadruple murder in Troy last week was previously banned from an upstate homeless shelter over violent behavior, according to a report.
Suspect James White, 38, was barred from The City Mission of Schenectady, located in Schenectady, several months ago after getting into fights with other occupants, the Times Union reported.
“He was very troubled,” Michael Saccocio, the executive director of the non-profit that runs the shelter, told the news outlet of White. “He was aggressive, always getting into fights. We had to prohibit him from the campus.”
White along with 24-year-old Justin Mann, also of Schenectady, were both hit with murder charges in the slayings that nearly wiped out a whole family.
The victims — identified as Shanta Myers, 36, two of her young three children, and the mom’s girlfriend, Brandi Mells, 22 – were found last Tuesday bound at home with their throats slit.
But authorities believe they were killed on Dec. 21, officials have said in court.
Saccocio told the Times Union that White came to the City Mission to sleep there about a year ago and was first prohibited from spending nights at the facility because of his outbursts before he was totally banned.
“Everyone in the shelter has needs,” Saccocio told the newspaper. “But they all get what the rules are and follow them. He wouldn’t follow the rule. He was very troubled. He was certainly extreme.”
Commenting on the brutal murders, Saccocio said: “It’s just devastating. I couldn’t imagine a person being capable of doing something like this.”
The murder suspects, who pleaded not guilty at their arraignment, were ordered held without bail.
One of the two accused knew the family, according to Troy Police Chief John Tedesco, but he did not identify which one.