From Greene County District Attorney Joseph Stanzione:
“On Tuesday January 24th, 2017, Maximillian Sloley was sentenced to 14 years prison plus 5 years post release supervision for his December 2016 conviction of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, Unlawfully Fleeing a Police Officer and Reckless Driving.
District Attorney Joseph Stanzione argued in favor of a lengthy sentence citing Sloley’s four previous Felony convictions, three of which involved a loaded fire arm. Stanzione argued that a lengthy sentence would protect the citizens of Greene County from Sloley’s violent criminal propensities.
On April 23, 2016, Sloley was initially stopped by Greene County Sheriff Deputy Raymond Feml for a simple speeding offense when Sloley proceeded to lead Deputy Feml and NYS Police on a chase at speeds of up to 90 m.p.h., beginning on Route 9W in the Town of Athens, and then continuing into the Town of Coxsackie. Sloley drove down Mansion Street at a high rate of speed passing vehicles by driving on the shoulder, onto the sidewalk and across the double yellow line, thereby placing citizens in harms way. Sloley eventually drove down VanDyke Street, a dead end road, at a high rate of speed; driving around homes and through backyards before crashing into an earth embankment.
After the crash, Greene County Sheriff Deputies canvassed the area behind the homes to determine if items of evidence were discarded by Sloley. In doing so, Sheriff K-9 “Zeba” located a loaded handgun in a wooded area in the backyard of 2 Van Dyke Street. Although Sloley claimed he never possessed the gun, Sgt. Marriott, the Sheriff’s Office Evidence Technician, processed the scene and handled all evidence so as to protect and preserve any DNA that might have been on the gun.
The Sheriff’s Department then transported the gun to the New York State Police Crime Lab in Albany for DNA analysis. The lab confirmed that Sloley’s DNA was, in fact, on the gun. It appears Sloley threw the gun out his vehicle window as he traveled through the backyard of 2 Van Dyke Street.
District Attorney Stanzione commends Sheriff Seeley and his team for their meticulous and thorough work in solving this crime. The case is also an example of just how valuable the “K-9 Unit” is at the Greene County Sheriff’s Office. Sloley’s criminal record reflects that he was released from Federal Parole in December 2015. The Federal case also involved the possession of a loaded pistol. It was merely four months later when the current offense occurred. Before passing sentence, Judge Wilhelm admonished Sloley for placing citizens of Greene County in harms way by his reckless acts, and for failing to accept responsibility for his conduct.”