Author: Aidan Cahill

One man is dead, and another has been charged with murder after a fight in Saratoga Springs.

John C. “Clay” Williamson Jr., 44, died on the morning of Tuesday, April 14, after a fight on West Ave near Station Lane. Saratoga Springs Police say the call came in around 7:30, and officers were on scene within two minutes of being dispatched.

Police found Williamson going in and out of consciousness and bleeding from several stab wounds. He was transported to Saratoga Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police said he had been living in a wooded area near where the incident took place.

During the initial investigation, West Ave was closed between Church Street and Washington Street. SSPD said that witnesses called 911 quickly, allowing officers to identify and locate others involved in the incident who cooperated with the investigation.

Another homeless man, Kyle D. Baker, 52, was arrested following the incident and charged with 2nd degree murder. Police allege that Baker stabbed Williamson to death during the fight. Baker was arraigned in the Saratoga City Court and remanded to the custody of the Saratoga County Correctional Facility without bail. As of the time of publication, he is set to appear in court on April 16 at 9:45 a.m.

While Baker has ties to Corinth, he had been living in a wooded area on West Ave at the time of the incident, according to SSPD.

This is not Baker’s first time being arrested in Saratoga County. In June 2020, he was arrested by the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office after he fired a gun at residences on Hollow Road in the Town of Day as he drove by. A press release issued at the time of the arrest said the homes were occupied. At the time of that incident, he was listed as living in Warrensburg.

In 2021, Baker pleaded guilty to a 2nd-degree felony attempted criminal mischief. He began his sentence in April 2022 and spent nearly a year at the Marcy Correctional Facility before being paroled in March 2023. His parole expired in April 2024, according to records from the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. Baker’s only other felony conviction came in 2012, when he pleaded guilty to Grand Larceny in Warren County Court, according to court records.

The investigation into the alleged murder is ongoing. SSPD has requested that anyone who may have witnessed or recorded the incident contact them at (518) 584-8477 (TIPS) or by e-mail at tips@saratogapolice.org. Specific areas of interest to police include the Stewart’s Shop at 87 West Avenue, Station Lane, the American Legion at 34 West Avenue, and West Avenue between Station Lane and Washington Street.

The Saratoga Springs Police were aided by the New York State Police in securing the crime scene and interviewing witnesses, and the investigation is being done in coordination with the Saratoga County District Attorney’s Office.

Homicides aren’t common in Saratoga Springs or Saratoga County. In 2024, only three homicides occurred countywide, according to state data. The last reported homicide in Saratoga Springs occurred in April 2025 after an individual accidentally killed his roommate with a pellet gun. It was the only reported homicide handled by the SSPD, according to their annual report.

After a summer which saw several high-profile animal abuse incidents in Saratoga, the county is taking action. 

A new task force has been formed to combat the issue and develop a coordinated response to incidents of abuse in Saratoga County. The task force is comprised of members of the Saratoga County District Attorney’s Office, Saratoga County Sheriff’s Department, animal control officers, Saratoga County Health Department, elected officials and the Saratoga County Animal Shelter. 

The task force invited members of the media to attend a meeting on April 1 where they went over recent changes to policies and procedures related to animal abuse. 

One of those changes was the introduction of a thermal camera to detect bruising on an animal without having to shave it. District Attorney Brett Eby said the camera was bought with asset forfeiture funds and it was given to the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office at the meeting.

The purchase and use of the camera was lauded by Saratoga County Animal Shelter Director Kelly Devall. 

“The one problem that we have is a lot of these animals are beaten in some way, shape or form and it’s very hard to detect the bruising,” Devall said.  “We did have one case where we were able to shave the dog and see very clear bruising. In other cases, we won’t be that lucky.” 

The shelter also recently received a new one-touch x-ray machine to help treat injuries more effectively as well as a new laser therapy machine to assist in treating animals with skin problems. 

On the law enforcement side, Deputies are being equipped with devices to measure heat and ammonium content in areas where animals are found to better assess the conditions the animals were living in. 

“Instead of walking in and saying the ammonium scent a was really strong, they will have an actual reading of what was going on, or how high the temperature was that the animals were having to exist in with no food and no water and the impact that could be having on those animals as far as their lungs go,” Devall said. 

Saratoga County Sheriff Jeff Brown said that deputies trained in animal abuse investigations will have access to these tools to help in their investigations. 

The task force came about after an incident at A Time Four Paws in the Town of Halfmoon, where multiple animals were found confined in an areas without proper ventilation or sufficient access to water in July 2025. One of the animals, a French bulldog named Gus tragically died from heatstroke as a result of the incident. 

The owner of A Time Fourr Paws, Yvette Giovanni, was recently indicted on charges of aggravated cruelty to animals, criminal mischief in the second degree, and 11 counts of overdriving, torturing, and injuring animals. The incident, along with another incident in the Town of Argyle led local lawmakers to propose legislation to regulate boarding facilities statewide. The bill is currently in committee. 

Brown said that the incident at A Time Four Paws highlighted the need for more coordination among the agencies involved in combating animal abuse. 

“One of the reasons that this task force was formed that was such a large case,” Brown said. “There were people coming in from all over on that.  We thought the task force would formalize those relationships. So when those big all hands-on-deck cases come in, we built the relationships and we’re more ready to respond to those cases.”

Another major development that came as a result of the animal abuse cases was the introduction of a county-wide animal abuse registry. In September, the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the law creating the registry with it first being implemented in January of this year. 

Under the law, those who have been convicted of animal abuse offenses are required to register as an animal abuser and submit a photo. So far, one person has been added to the registry, Richard Mark Doyle, who pled guilty to animal abuse this year.  

Saratoga is one of 20 counties in New York to implement the registry. While independent groups compile this information, there is no state registry statewide. 

“There are different independent groups that will take all of the county registries, and they compile them on to one website,” Eby said. “Obviously, it would be better to have a statewide registry, but in Saratoga County, we didn’t want to wait for Albany to get tough on animal abuse and take it as seriously as we are.”

It was a beautiful day in North Carolina for Jeff Beasley. 

On March 8, the 47-year-old resident of Saratoga Springs was in Indian Trail, North Carolina visiting his family for his sister’s birthday when he decided to go up in a small plane with his nephew, Nathan. The 21-year-old had just received his pilot’s license and was excited to show off his skills to his family. Beasley volunteered to go up first. 

After completing pre-flight checks, the two had just taken off when Beasley noticed something was wrong. 

“I noticed something, it just felt like the thrust wasn’t there,” Beasley said. “About the same time my nephew made the comment, ‘uh oh.’” 

At that point both men noticed that the propellor on the single engine Piper 28 wasn’t spinning as fast and the engine appeared to be stalling. Beasley said that he and his nephew didn’t panic and instead focused on getting the plane down safely. Both of them struggled to find a place to land as most of the area surrounding the airport was wooded. 

“Everywhere I looked, it was just thick woods, and I knew if we went into the woods, we were most likely not going to make it,” Beasley said. 

Beasley then spotted the place where they would eventually land — a cow pasture about a mile away from the airport in the opposite direction from where they took off. 

“I said, ‘Do you think we can get over there?’” Jeff recalls asking Nathan.  “And he said, ‘I don’t know, but we’re gonna try.’” 

At about 30 feet off the ground, they struck a tree which seared off the left side of the aircraft, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, which released a preliminary report on the crash — something Beasley believes may have saved his life. 

“If we would have landed without interference, I think maybe we would have rolled that plane many times in the field because it’s a cow field, it’s not very smooth, and planes aren’t exactly known for their suspensions,” Beasley said. 

When the plane hit the ground, Beasley was slammed against the dashboard, resulting in a concussion, several broken rips, lacerations in his face, a possible bruised lung, and an air pocket between his chest and lung. He also lost four pints of blood in the ordeal. The force was so severe that his face broke the steel yoke of the aircraft, Beasley said.

His nephew suffered a broken hand, and a compression fracture in his back.

Beasley recalls being in and out of consciousness after the crash. He remembers hearing his nephew call out to him and telling his nephew to get up as he was lying face down in a cow pasture. He also remembers joking with the EMTs on the way to the hospital.

According to the Union County Sherriff’s Office, Nathan was airlifted to Atrium Hospital in Charlotte while Beasley was transported by ambulance.

The aircraft involved was a Piper PA-28 registered to JTS Aircraft LLC, a company based out of South Carolina. It first received its airworthiness certification in 1969, was overhauled in 2016 and passed its annual inspection as recently as Dec. 2025, according to the NTSB. 

Inspection of the aircraft after the accident showed it had no water or debris in the fuel tank, and the engine didn’t have any external signs of catastrophic engine failure. Prior to the accident the airframe had flown 2,200 miles since it was overhauled in 2016. 

Helping Beasley recover from the incident has been his longtime girlfriend, Tina Smith. Smith, who was in Las Vegas on a separate trip quickly rushed to Charlotte and was there within a day of the accident. Beasley said she’s been by his side ever since, helping him manage the pain and healing process.

“I wouldn’t be able to do without her,” Beasley said. “There’s been some bad nights where I can’t sleep, and I’m driving her crazy because she wants to sleep. I thank her so much for that. This has not been easy for her, and she’s just doing it all right now.” 

He’s also grateful for the outpouring of support from friends who have been dropping by with food and even offered to drive to Charlotte to bring him back to New York. 

While Beasley said he’s not afraid of flying, he doesn’t plan on flying in any small planes again — especially not ones made in the 60s. He said his nephew can’t wait to get back in the air despite the accident. 

Beasley said that at no point were either of them afraid they weren’t going to make it. While Beasley said he’s not afraid to die, he wants to be there for his kids and make sure he’s there for them. He said that the biggest message he got from the crash is to hug your loved ones, as cliché as it sounds.

“The things that mean the most to me in life are the simple ones,” Beasley said “It’s easy conversations on a Sunday morning, waking up and having breakfast with people you love. It’s packing my kid’s lunches and helping them with their homework, as aggravating as it might be, planning parties, playing golf trips and going on a boat. Lake George in the summertime. Life’s beautiful.”