A man who robbed a Colonie bank at gunpoint before leading authorities on a Northway chase to Saratoga Springs pled guilty on a charge of menacing a police officer, a felony, on Tuesday, July 7.
The plea was unexpected, as it came at a conference to set hearing and trial dates.
In December of last year, Daniel C. Freeland, 62, robbed a Capital Bank in Colonie before driving his SUV to Exit 16 on the Northway, with state police in pursuit. When he was forced to stop his vehicle for a passing train, he aimed a .38 revolver at a state trooper who had been in pursuit. Freeland continued to Saratoga Springs before he crashed into a civilian vehicle on Route 50.
Freeland was indicted in both Albany and Saratoga Counties for the separate crimes he committed in each location.
Saratoga County District Attorney James Murphy said his office will seek the maximum sentence of seven years, which would run concurrently with his sentence for bank robbery in Albany County.
He pointed a loaded .38 caliber handgun at a trooper, he needed to be held responsible for that potentially deadly criminal conduct, said Murphy in a statement.
Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 1, before Judge Scarano in Saratoga County Court.“