COHOES, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The man who wore a clown mask and raised a chainsaw at another man in Cohoes last May was sentenced in Albany County Court on Friday. The Albany County District Attorney’s Office said Craig Wolcott received a one and a half to four year sentence.
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A jury convicted Wolcott in December of first-degree menacing and third-degree criminal possession for the incident that happened on May 1. The DA’s office said the conviction came after four witnesses were called on during the trial, along with surveillance video that captured Wolcott walking up Lancaster Street with a red chainsaw and clown mask on.
Wolcott began arguing with a resident who confronted him before he pulled the sheath off the chainsaw and raised it at the man in a threatening manner, officials said. The victim held Wolcott off until police arrived, and he was arrested.
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Before he was sentenced, Wolcott apologized to the court and the victim, saying it was a prank gone wrong in addition to admitting he had been drinking heavily and not taking mental health medication. Judge Roger McDonough called the case one of the strangest the court has heard in the past 20 years.
“Drinking, not taking his meds … it’s not a defense in this case, it’s not an excuse in this case, but it is an explanation,” McDonough said. “No one goes to prison and comes out the same. You either come out better or worse. And you can come out better if you truly address these issues during incarceration.”…