On January 27, 2025, a sixteen-year-old-male, D.S., was arraigned in Schenectady County Youth Part by Schenectady Family Court Judge Mark W. Blanchfield on a seven count sealed indictment charging him with one count of Murder in the Second Degree, two counts of Assault in the First Degree, two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, one count of Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree, and Tampering with Physical evidence. D.S. was remanded to the custody of the Capital District Juvenile Secure Detention Facility pending further proceedings.
The defendant was arrested for the murder of Dubar Knowles, who was fifteen years old at the time of his death. The allegations are that the Defendant shot Dubar Knowles at a large party on Congress Street once through the chest during the late hours October 12, 2024. The bullet that struck Knowles travelled through his chest, exiting through his back and into a large group of other young people. The bullet ended up striking a thirteen-year-old child in the back of the head and stopped in her skull. The child needed emergency surgery to remove the bullet from her head and repair significant damage to her skull, from which she has largely recovered. DNA analysts from the New York State Forensic Laboratory determined Mr. Knowles’s DNA was on the bullet recovered from the thirteen-year-old’s head, indicating the same bullet passed through him before striking the child.
The investigation was led by the Schenectady Police Department Youth Aid Bureau, with substantial assistance from the Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Task Force, and New York State Police. The Schenectady County Sheriff’s Street Crimes Task Force arrested the defendant without incident, with assistance from the Schenectady County Department of Probation.
The People are represented by Assistant District Attorney Michael Nobles. D.S. is represented by attorney Adam Parisi.
An indictment is just an accusatory instrument. D.S. is presumed innocent until such time as he may be proven guilty in a court of law. He is entitled to all the rights of any accused person, including the right to a jury trial to determine his guilt or innocence.