ULSTER COUNTY

OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 23, 2023
Contact: ucda@co.ulster.ny.us
(845) 340-3280

ULSTER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE REFUTES IRRESPONSIBLE

STATEMENTS OF FORMER DA D. HOLLEY CARNRIGHT
On June 19, 2023, former District Attorney D. Holley Carnright released a lengthy uninformed
and misguided opinion letter steeped in inaccuracies and misperceptions of last week’s trial.
While the Lemon jury did not return the verdict we believed was supported by the evidence for
the top counts, this is the nature of our criminal justice system: every defendant is presumed
innocent unless the jury finds guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Former DA Carnright’s letter and allegations are beneath the dignity of the office he once held.
No prosecutor, no matter how good and effective, and no matter the quality of the evidence, can
guarantee conviction anywhere in this County, State, and Country. Previous Ulster County DAs
and Chief Assistant DAs have tried and lost high profile cases. In the previous administrations and
this administration, the trial prosecutors put forward the best evidence in the case with dignity and
respect before the jury.
Carnright’s uninformed and misguided opinion letter was then published on the front page of the
June 20 issue of the Daily Freeman, with an inflammatory and misleading headline. Knee-jerk
reporting and the continuous unverified publication of inflammatory claims and allegations has
the harmful effect of misleading and misinforming the public, particularly when the Freeman
deliberately ignores printing corrections or retractions. This is not uncommon in the national arena,
but our local community deserves better because freedom of the press should serve to properly
inform the community. Ulster County residents have a stake in this Office and should know as
follows:
(1) Chief ADA Nneji finished the murder trial of Truvock Noble in March of 2022, and,
without previous involvement in the Snyder case, assumed responsibility to complete the
discovery process and prosecute the trial of the case after the previous assigned ADAs
resigned. Judge Rounds ordered that Chief ADA Nneji was not permitted to have any
witness identify Snyder as a participant in the murder of Romero Underwood and other
charges in the indictment; that meant a guarantee of acquittal for Snyder. No prosecutor
 would walk into any courtroom for trial under such orders, as it would be both unethical
and illegal to do so.

(2) Former DA Carnright is uninformed that the Raymond Snyder case remains the subject of
a lawsuit pending in a higher court in Albany, in which this office seeks nullify his
decisions and orders based on his actions and conduct in the case via an Article 78 Petition

(3) Chief Assistant Nneji was never sanctioned for any Brady violation in the Snyder case. The
purported “Brady” material in the LeMon (related to Snyder) case was turned over on the
same day that Chief ADA Nneji received it, and the defense attorney later withdrew his
Brady claim.

(4) Former DA Carnright’s suggestion of rampant discovery violation in the LeMon case and
in the office is patently false. Judge Rounds’ ruling essentially meant that the prosecution
should have turned over by or before April 5, 2023, a lab report dated May 18, 2023,
which was received and immediately turned over by Chief ADA Nneji on May 19,
2023. The law requires to turn over for “copying”, “photographing”, “testing” and
“inspection” of “items” and “information” in the “possession” of the prosecution. A
prosecutor cannot turn over something he or she does not have, and must turn it over once
received, as was done here.

(5) It is irresponsible of a former DA, who should know better, to suggest and ascribe unethical
motives in the LeMon case. Callin LeMon was indicted in June 2022 following the
development of additional evidence obtained by Chief ADA Nneji in May of 2022 from
an undercover investigation conducted on March 23, 2022.
It is profoundly disappointing that someone previously elected as District Attorney of this County
has chosen to undermine public confidence in the Office he professed to lead and the ADAs who
strive daily to pursue justice for crime victims and the community.
###