By Patricia Breakey
DELHI _ The second-degree murder trial for the man accused of fatally stabbing State University College of Technology at Delhi student Tyshawn Bierria begins at 9:30 a.m. today with jury selection, Delaware County District Attorney Richard Northrup said Monday.
Northrup said the case will be heard by Broome County Judge Joseph Cawley. The case was originally assigned to Delaware County Judge Carl Becker, then to Madison County Judge Donald Cerio.
The defendant, Jose Antonio Lambert, 23, of New York City, was assigned a new attorney, Randel Scharf of Cooperstown, on March 30.
Lambert is being held without bail. His trial was originally scheduled for the Oct. 6, 2008, trial term. It was postponed until the January term, and then to May 4 because Lambert's former attorney, Frederick Neroni, said he was not prepared for trial.
When Scharf was assigned, he was allowed to seek a postponement until the July 21 term and then requested an additional period to prepare the case.
Neroni had taken the case on a retainer. He later appeared in court and said that Lambert's family had retained him, then vanished and didn't pay additional fees.
On March 17, Neroni said Lambert is indigent, adding that if he wasn't paid for work completed and then assigned by the court to the case, he wanted to be relieved.
Cerio issued a decision March 24 agreeing to Neroni's request. Cerio then assigned Scharf.
Lambert is charged in the death of Bierria, 22, of Queens. Bierria died May 1, 2008, at Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown after being stabbed multiple times.
Officials said the stabbing occurred during a brawl with several people at about 4:30 a.m. April 27 near Russell Hall on the SUNY Delhi campus.
Lambert was one of five people arrested in connection with the stabbing, but a grand jury did not return indictments against the other four suspects.
The four men had been charged with first-degree gang assault, a class B felony, and one count of second-degree attempted murder, a class B felony. They were released after the grand jury issued no bills for a lack of evidence after hearing testimony from dozens of witnesses and receiving other non-testimony evidence.
A grand jury is composed of 16 to 23 people, and at least 12 have to vote to indict, Northrup said.
The suspects who were not indicted are Jack Daniel Boampong, 19; William Dorsey Jr., 22; Raymond Brightman, 21; and Olanrewaju Ogunwuyi, 21. All are from New York City. Boampong was a student at SUNY Delhi at the time of his arrest.
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Patricia Breakey can be reached at 746-2894 or at stardelhi@stny.rr.com.
