Trotta found to ‘lack capacity’ for murder trial

POUGHKEEPSIE — On the afternoon of Wednesday, March 16, Wassaic resident and murder suspect David A. Trotta, 26, was back in Poughkeepsie’s Dutchess County Court. This time he was there to have his mental capacity and fitness evaluated for his criminal case.

Trotta is being tried for the  stabbing death of his neighbor, 45-year-old Juan Carlos Cedillo, who was killed on Sunday, Jan. 16. Trotta was arrested at the scene shortly after EMS failed to save Cedillo’s life at the Wassaic apartment building where both men resided.

Trotta lived in an apartment with his mother on the first floor, while the victim lived with his wife in the other first-floor apartment at the quiet rental unit located at 173 South Amenia Road. The two men only knew each other by sight, according to Cedillo’s widow.

Trotta was arraigned in Amenia Town Court on Jan. 16 and charged with Murder in the Second Degree, a class A-1 felony, and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the 4th degree, a class A misdemeanor. Amenia Town Justice Christopher Klingner remanded him to the Dutchess County Jail in Poughkeepsie without bail.

Represented by Attorneys Robert Demono and Brad White from the Dutchess County Public Defender’s Office, Trotta appeared in Dutchess County Court on Tuesday, March 1, before the Honorable Jessica Segal.

Assistant District Attorneys (ADAs) David Kunca and Sarah Thompson from the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office are prosecuting the case. After being presented to the Grand Jury, Trotta was arraigned on the indictment for stabbing Cedillo as part of the County Court proceedings.

Trotta’s March 16 hearing was designed to evaluate his capacity and mental fitness to proceed with the case. If found capacitated on the 16th, Trotta’s case would proceed with motion practice, hearings and a trial.

If he was deemed incapacitated or unfit, Trotta would be remanded to the Commissioner of Mental Health and go to a psychiatric hospital until he’s determined fit to proceed.

Trotta was again before the Honorable Jessica Segal last Wednesday. As far as what happened during the hearing, Demono explained that two doctors gave an initial evaluation of the defendant and found he lacked capacity.

The Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office is therefore hiring a third doctor to evaluate Trotta, whose hearing was adjourned to Wednesday, April 13, at 2 p.m.

At that time, Demono said it’s expected the two doctors who initially evaluated Trotta will testify to their findings, as will the third doctor hired by the District Attorney’s Office.