Aaron Alshaman, 29, of Lee Center, is accused of setting fire to a Utica residence on April 9, 2025, while out on patrol. • Aaron Alshaman, the father of the infant, is charged with second-degree arson and four counts of second-degree attempted murder. • Police said Automatic Vehicle Location software showed Aaron Alshaman’s Oneida County […]
Aaron Alshaman, 29, of Lee Center, is accused of setting fire to a Utica residence on April 9, 2025, while out on patrol.
• Aaron Alshaman, the father of the infant, is charged with second-degree arson and four counts of second-degree attempted murder.
• Police said Automatic Vehicle Location software showed Aaron Alshaman’s Oneida County Sheriff’s Vehicle was parked in a parking lot one street to the west at the time of the fire.
The Oneida County sheriff’s deputy accused of setting a house on fire while on duty is set for a June 15 trial.
Aaron Alshaman, 29, of Lee Center, is accused of setting fire to a Utica residence on April 9, 2025.
The homeowner called 911 when they became overwhelmed with smoke in the interior of the residence, and fled outside with her infant child, and two parents.
Alshaman, the father of the infant, is charged with second-degree arson and four counts of second-degree attempted murder.
Alshaman pleaded not guilty to all charges and bail was set at $250,000 or $500,000 cash bond.
He had been a member of the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office for around five years, serving from Sept. 2020 to March 2023 before serving shortly with the Rome Police Department and returning to the sheriff’s office on August 2024.
If convicted of his top charge alone, second-degree arson, Alshaman faces up to 25 years in state prison.
The homeowner of the Utica residence that Ashaman allegedly set fire to in April 2025 was questioned by police after the fact and asked if there was anyone who she could think of who may have committed the act.
Police said the victim stated she had no suspect information, but did note her child’s father, Alshaman, had recently been served custody papers related to a child they have in common.
Through the investigation surveillance footage from area residences were located.
One camera from Downer Avenue shows the rear of the residence, and a figure starting the fire, then home becoming engulfed. A second video from Kellogg Avenue shows an individual walking toward 1117 Kellogg Avenue with a gas can in hand, then minutes later the same individual running from the scene with the gas can in a southerly direction.
Police said Automatic Vehicle Location software showed Alshaman’s Oneida County Sheriff’s Vehicle was parked in a parking lot one street to the west at the time of the fire. Additionally, the vehicle leaves the immediate area minutes after the fire is started.
Furthermore, as part of the investigation a multitude of electronic evidence was secured, to include cell phones, smart watches, surveillance video, body worn camera data, and a download of the sheriff’s vehicle.
Defense Attorney John Leonard indicated a year ago that there was lot of evidence to go through in the case against Alashaman, saying that there were almost 35,000 folders given to him as part of discovery.
On June 1, when Judge Robert Bauer asked the prosecution and defense how long they expected the trial to run for, Oneida County District Attorney Todd Carville said he had 50 witnesses for an expected seven to eight days of testimony.
Defense Attorney John Leonard said he expected to call four witnesses.
Bauer said when potential jurors are called in on June 15, he would brief them to expect the trial to run around two weeks.…Read more by Casey Pritchard