The lawyer of an accused attempted kidnapper said he has video footage proving his client was in Albany during the time of an attempted kidnapping on Sand Creek Road at 4:25 p.m. Saturday, March 7.
Attorney James E. Long said that while, there is no question that the young lady was attempted to be abducted, Brian McArdle, 27, of Albany, the developmentally disabled man accused of the crime, was at his home when the incident was said to take place.
According to Long, McArdle, who has `the mental reading capabilities of a seventh-grader, although he doesn’t look it,` started out his afternoon by dropping off some friends from his bowling league. He then went to McDonald’s Restaurant on Wolf Road and was `horsing around with his car,` at about 2 p.m., Long said.
According the Long, after speaking with police about the McDonald’s incident, McArdle went to Lowe’s and Target before returning the home he shared with his parents. At approximately 3:12 p.m., Long said, McArdle’s mother called and left a message asking where he was. McArdle then returned the call at 3:22 p.m. and walked into his house at 3:35 p.m.
McArdle told his mother that he was running out of gas and asked her if he could have $10 to put in his tank, Long said. His mother gave him the money, and at 4:43 p.m., Long said, there is video footage showing McArdle pulling into a gas station on Madison Avenue in Albany.
Colonie police dispatched a car to the victim’s house at 4:26 p.m., Long said.
`At 4:26, I say that Brian was at home, at his parents’ house, because literally 20 minutes later he’s getting gas in the neighborhood gas station,` Long said.
Although Long said that according to MapQuest it is possible to get from the location of the attempted kidnapping to the gas station in about 14 minutes, MapQuest does not take into account `other factors,` such as traffic, stop lights, and the time it takes to get in and out of the car.
Police arrested McArdle on Saturday, March 7, at his residence, on Pine Avenue in Albany, on the felony attempted kidnapping charges after police said a 14-year-old girl provided a description that led police to identify McArdle as the suspect who allegedly grabbed the girl and attempted to place her in his car at around 4:25 p.m.
Police interviewed McArdle earlier that day, around 2 p.m., after officers received a call of an `annoying vehicle` driving in circles in the McDonald’s parking lot.
Some time after police issued McArdle a warning for his driving at McDonald’s, Detective Lt. John Van Alstyne said police received a call from the girl, who described the scenario in which a man attempted to kidnap her as she was walking alone on Sand Creek Road near Sunset Boulevard.
Van Alstyne said the girl, whose name was not released by police, `immediately went into fight mode` and began hitting the suspect’s arms, at which point he released his grip and she fled on foot.
The man, Van Alstyne said, then got back into his vehicle and drove away.
When the girl called police, she described the vehicle the man was driving, as well as his physical characteristics, which Long said do not exactly match up with McArdle’s physical characteristics on that day.
`Her description doesn’t fit Brian,` Long said. `She describes Brian as having ‘hairy hands,’ but even police have said [McArdle’s] hands are not hairy, but they were dirty. She also described him as wearing a dark blue sweatshirt/sweater type shirt. You can see in the , Brian is wearing a royal blue hoodie.`
Long also said that the video shows McArdle wearing a baseball cap.
`I don’t think he would have taken his hat off to kidnap someone and then put it back on,` Long said. `They got the wrong guy.`
Still, police are convinced McArdle matches the girl’s description and are proceeding with the investigation.
`[The girl] described the vehicle and the suspect, and the police who answered the call realized we had contact with the suspect two hours earlier,` Van Alstyne said.
McArdle was arrested at his home and charged with attempted kidnapping, as well as resisting arrest, a misdemeanor. He was arraigned in the Town of Colonie Court and sent to the Albany County Correctional Facility without bail.
While there is no date set for McArdle to return to court, Long said he is still in the process of collecting evidence, including the video surveillance from Target and Lowe’s that will illustrate the timeline Long said proves his client’s innocence.
When asked whether Colonie police were also in the process of obtaining the tapes, Van Alstyne said Monday, March 23, `We don’t give out details of ongoing investigations.`
Van Alstyne did say that the police are preparing their case for trial.
Long said, should the case go to trial, McArdle’s parents and a roofer who was working on their house and witnessed McArdle coming home at 3:35 p.m., would serve as witnesses.
“