After having his original verdict overturned, an Auburn man has once again been convicted of murder.
According to the Cayuga County District Attorney’s Office, Gage Ashley has been convicted of murder in the November 19, 2019 killing of Joshua Poole at 8 Delevan Street during a botched robbery.
The jury reached its decision at 1:45p Friday, after roughly one day of deliberation. Ashley was also found guilty of attempted robbery and criminal possession of a weapon.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 23.
District Attorney Antonacci commented: “Today, Gage Ashley’s attempt to evade justice for this murder ended with the guilty verdict. Justice was served for the murder of Joshua Poole. We are grateful to the jurors for the time they took to carefully evaluate the evidence. I also commend the Auburn Police Department, the New York State Police, the Cayuga County Sheriff’s Office, and multiple other agencies for their excellent work on this case.”
Back in February, the 26-year-old turned down a plea deal that would have seen him serve 21 years to life in prison for 2nd-degree murder.
Ashley had been convicted in 2021 of the murder; however, that conviction was overturned nearly 18 months later after it was learned that a member of the grand jury which indicted him was ineligible to serve due to a previous criminal conviction.
Ashley wasn’t the only person alleged to have been involved in the murder.
In 2021, Lucciano Spagnola pled guilty to two counts of murder along with one count each of attempted robbery and conspiracy for his role in the botched robbery and murder, having admitted to firing a shotgun at Poole. Following the overturning of Ashley’s 2021 conviction, Spagnola sought to have his overturned as well.
A third person, Tyree Anglin, pled guilty to manslaughter for his role in the murder.
