A former Albany County prosecutor turned defense attorney has been arrested and charged with allegedly illegally releasing confidential witness information that led to a cooperating witness being threatened and stabbed in a federal prison.
Jasper Mills, a criminal defense attorney, faces five charges, including witness intimidation and witness tampering, after he allegedly violated a court protective order by sharing a sensitive list of witnesses in a gang-related murder case. Attorney General Letitia James and New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James announced the indictment on Tuesday.
Mills represented Vramir Branch, one of four defendants charged in the January 2021 gang-related murder of 32-year-old Shanita Thomas. On October 27, 2022, Judge Roger McDonough issued a protective order, specifically prohibiting Mills from providing his client with any documents containing witness names or personal information.
On June 3, 2024, the judge ordered prosecutors to provide defense attorneys with a witness list naming two cooperating witnesses. That night, an assistant district attorney emailed the list to all defense attorneys, reminding them that protective orders prohibit sharing copies with their clients.
Two days later, on June 5, 2024, a cooperating witness incarcerated at FCI Ray Brook in Lake Placid was approached by several armed inmates who threatened to kill him unless he left their housing unit. The attackers told him they knew he had “become a state witness”. The witness fled to the lieutenant’s corrections office and was taken into protective custody.
Investigators found that a copy of the witness list containing Mills’ distinctive markings was posted on Snapchat and sent out via text message, even though the protective order was still in place.
On September 8, 2024, the cooperating witness was again attacked in protective custody. The assailants cut his wrist with a prison cleaver, and he required hospitalization due to an infection from the wound.
Prosecutors also allege that on April 8, 2024, Mills delivered to a branch at the Albany County Correctional Facility a hard drive containing documents he was not allowed to share, including the names and quotes of eyewitnesses to Thomas’ murder used in search warrant affidavits.
“Witness intimidation corrupts our justice system and prevents victims of crime from obtaining justice with a fair trial,” James said. “Jasper Mills allegedly shared life-threatening witness information and my office will hold him accountable.
Mills is charged with criminal contempt in the second degree, intimidation of a witness in the first degree, intimidation in the second degree, tampering with a witness in the first degree and tampering with a witness in the second degree. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of eight and one-third to 25 years in prison.
Mills was indicted in Albany Superior Court.
The New York State Police conducted the investigation. The prosecution is being conducted by Senior Counsel Mary Gorman and Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Kyriacou under the supervision of Office of Public Integrity Chief Gerard Murphy.
Leave a Reply