Insanity Plea Entered In Saugerties Fireplace Poker Attack: DA

SAUGERTIES, NY — A local man has pleaded insanity for an October attack with a fireplace poker.

Jonathan Wilson, 31, entered the plea, “not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect,” on May 21 during a proceeding before Judge Bryan E. Rounds in Ulster County Court.

The Ulster County District Attorney’s office announced Wilson’s new plea on Tuesday. Wilson is next due to appear in court July 2, court records show.

Wilson was indicted for second-degree attempted murder for the Oct. 30, 2024 attack at 319 Main St. Prosecutors said he attacked an individual there with a fireplace poker.

The victim’s son tackled Wilson to the ground and held him until police arrived, according to the district attorney’s office. The victim was injured but survived.

Wilson was remanded without bail for psychiatric evaluation.

Ulster County District Attorney Emmanuel C. Nneji said of the plea, “This is an instance in which a serious and violent crime is committed by someone whose ability to act intentionally, as required by law, was not present at the time of the commission of the crime.”

Wilson will be ordered to a psychiatric facility for care and treatment.

The court will determine what threat he poses to himself and others, and the nature of his commitment to the state Commissioner of Mental Health, according to the district attorney’s office.

If it is determined Wilson is a danger, the court will order him delivered to a secure psychiatric facility for treatment, with periodic court reviews of his case. If he is deemed to be not dangerous, he may be placed in a less restrictive psychiatric facility, prosecutors said.

“Regardless of the seriousness of the crime and damage to the victim, and depending on his progress, (Wilson) could theoretically be released within a few months or remain in a secure psychiatric facility for the rest of his life,” Nneji said.