LOCKPORT – A man with a history of gun violence was arraigned Thursday on an indictment charging him with shooting a man in Niagara Falls on May 26.
Cordarise M. Houston, 23, of 70th Street in the Falls, faces a charge of shooting John Petty “seven times and leaving him to die,” Deputy District Attorney Doreen M. Hoffmann told Niagara County Judge Matthew J. Murphy III.
Petty, 24, shot in the abdomen in his Cudaback Avenue home, did not die and called 911 to tell Falls police about the attack.
Police arrested Houston and his wife ,Marguerita, 24, in a Niagara Falls Boulevard motel two days after the shooting. Marguerita Houston pleaded not guilty Thursday to second-degree hindering prosecution for allegedly helping her husband avoid police.
Cordarise Houston faces charges of attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and first-degree criminal use of a firearm.
Hoffmann declined to comment about a motive for the shooting.
Murphy said he intends to review the grand jury minutes and decide whether Angelo Musitano needs to be replaced as defense attorney for one of the defendants.
Musitano, the defense attorney for both Houstons, said he sees no conflict of interest in the joint representation. “There’s no divergence of interest. We also have the marital privilege,” he said.
The prosecutor said Houston was paroled from state prison in January after serving most of a seven-year sentence for second-degree burglary.
That charge stemmed from a 2006 home invasion on Linwood Avenue in the Falls in which a man was shot.
Musitano said Houston remains in custody without bail on a parole violation detainer.
As a 15-year-old, Houston was charged as an adult with shooting an 18-year-old in the chest outside a Highland Avenue nightclub.
Marguerita Houston is free on a $1,500 bail bond.
Murphy scheduled a pretrial conference for Oct. 3 and set a tentative trial date of Jan. 6.
email: tprohaska@buffnews.com
Cordarise M. Houston, 23, of 70th Street in the Falls, faces a charge of shooting John Petty “seven times and leaving him to die,” Deputy District Attorney Doreen M. Hoffmann told Niagara County Judge Matthew J. Murphy III.
Petty, 24, shot in the abdomen in his Cudaback Avenue home, did not die and called 911 to tell Falls police about the attack.
Police arrested Houston and his wife ,Marguerita, 24, in a Niagara Falls Boulevard motel two days after the shooting. Marguerita Houston pleaded not guilty Thursday to second-degree hindering prosecution for allegedly helping her husband avoid police.
Cordarise Houston faces charges of attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and first-degree criminal use of a firearm.
Hoffmann declined to comment about a motive for the shooting.
Murphy said he intends to review the grand jury minutes and decide whether Angelo Musitano needs to be replaced as defense attorney for one of the defendants.
Musitano, the defense attorney for both Houstons, said he sees no conflict of interest in the joint representation. “There’s no divergence of interest. We also have the marital privilege,” he said.
The prosecutor said Houston was paroled from state prison in January after serving most of a seven-year sentence for second-degree burglary.
That charge stemmed from a 2006 home invasion on Linwood Avenue in the Falls in which a man was shot.
Musitano said Houston remains in custody without bail on a parole violation detainer.
As a 15-year-old, Houston was charged as an adult with shooting an 18-year-old in the chest outside a Highland Avenue nightclub.
Marguerita Houston is free on a $1,500 bail bond.
Murphy scheduled a pretrial conference for Oct. 3 and set a tentative trial date of Jan. 6.
email: tprohaska@buffnews.com