WSSV News

The City of Saratoga Springs and the FBI are teaming up in a joint task force to take on fentanyl. WTEN reports
Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll says there have now been two fentanyl related deaths in Saratoga, this year. He says the initiative has been in the works for several months, as the city has seen an uptick in fentanyl-related issues in the city.

The woman killed in a deadly house fire in Ballston Spa has now been identified. 84 year old Mary Lou Cotton of Milton was found dead inside her Greenwood Drive home, after the Saturday evening fire. WNYT reports the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

A Saratoga Springs man has died after being hit while on New York State Route 29. WNYT reports the crash happened around the Saratoga Winery in the town of Milton just after 11:30 Monday evening when a Jeep struck two bicyclists. 44 year old
Nathan J. Shreve died at the scene. The other bicyclist was transported to Saratoga Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

A planned court hearing for 25 year old Persia Nelson, the Schenectady mother accused of murder in the March death of her 11-month-old daughter Halo Branton, was adjourned on Monday to an unspecified future date. The Daily Gazette reports she is accused of leaving Halo in a utility tunnel on the General Electric campus in Schenectady on March 9, causing the girl to die of exposure and hypothermia.

A Saratoga Springs man pleaded guilty on Monday to charges following a child sex abuse images investigation from 2023. WTEN reports 42 year old Luke Fletcher pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child, a class E felony.

The person killed in a deadly fire over the weekend in Ballston Spa was an 84-year-old woman, reports WNYT. Firefighters were called to 809 Greenwood Drive on Saturday night for a house fire with someone trapped.
The woman’s body was found in the house after the fire was put out. Her name is not being released until family is notified.

Work crews in North Greenbush now have a giant crane removed from the inside of a house on Sandra Drive. The owners hired A&J Tree Removal to remove three trees in the back. The job was set for Tuesday, but the crew showed up a day early, they said. WNYT reports they had just started work, when one of the outriggers, a stabilizing arm of the crane, went down causing the rig to come crashing down into the residence. No injuries.

The New York Racing Association is partnering with the Ed Brown Society to help create opportunities for young people of color to garner experience in the equine industry in New York State. WTEN reports The Ed Brown Society is named after African American horseman, Edward Dudley Brown, who was a thoroughbred jockey, trainer and owner from the late 19th Century until he retired in 1903.

Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 22-year-old woman for allegedly hitting and choking another person during a domestic incident on July 16. WTEN reports 22 year old Allaccia C. Johnson of Wilson, Pennsylvania, is accused of hitting another person in the face, choking them, and damaging over $250 property of the victim.

The Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office arrested 58 year old Robert R. Spearman for violating an order of protection.
The Sheriff’s Office responded to the violation report at Saratoga County Social Services at 152 West High Street in Ballston Spa just before 3 p.m. WNYT reports authorities say Spearman is accused of violating the order by failing to stay away from the protected person, and was charged with first-degree criminal contempt.