A city councilor facing felony drug charges has asked that his criminal case be sent directly to Superior Court, bypassing a grand jury.
Ahmad Whitfield made the request during his second appearance Wednesday in Town Court before Pete Liberatore, according to the Finger Lakes Times.
Whitfield was arrested Jan. 7 by the New York State Police and charged with second-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, a Class A-II felony, and two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, Class B felonies.
His attorney, Joseph Lobosco, told the court he had received extensive discovery materials from the Ontario County District Attorney’s Office and requested that the case be waived to a grand jury. Lobosco declined to comment following the hearing.
At Whitfield’s first court appearance in late January, Lobosco said he expected a “positive” outcome.
Under the New York State Unified Court System, waiving to a grand jury allows a defendant to skip the indictment process and instead be charged through a Superior Court Information filed by prosecutors. The process carries the same legal weight as an indictment and is often used to move cases forward more quickly or facilitate plea agreements.
It remains unclear how the case will proceed. Jason MacBride, the Ontario County district attorney, was unavailable for comment Wednesday.
Whitfield has not attended any City Council meetings since his arrest, according to City Clerk Nicole Tillotson. He has not responded to requests for comment on whether he plans to remain on the council.
A day after Whitfield’s arrest, Jim Cecere, mayor of Geneva, urged him to consider stepping down.
