Man Sentenced to up to 25 Years in Prison for Killing Walmart Employee

A Gansevoort man has been sentenced to up to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to striking and killing a Walmart employee in October. 

Timothy Besaw, 35 of Gansevoort had plead  guilty in April to aggravated vehicular homicide and first degree vehicular assault. He was sentenced to two concurrent sentences of 12 ½ to 25 years and 3 ½ to seven years in state prison — the maximum sentence. Besaw was sentenced as a second felony offender. 

Besaw’s sentence comes as a result of an incident on Oct. 16 in which Besaw was chased by three employees at the Saratoga Walmart in Wilton. Besaw got in an argument with the employees before getting in his car and striking two of them, according to the Saratoga County District Attorney’s Office. 

One of the employees, identified as Michael Bushey, 69 of Saratoga Springs died on Nov. 3 as a result of the incident. 

Besaw later crashed his car on Perry Road. While he refused a breath test at the scene, a blood test later showed that he was under the influence of alcohol and open containers were found in his vehicle. 

“Today’s sentence reflects the devastating consequences of the Defendant’s actions and holds him accountable for the immeasurable harm he caused,” District Attorney Brett Eby said in a statement. “While no sentence can restore the life that was taken or erase the trauma inflicted upon the surviving victim and the families involved, we hope this outcome provides a measure of justice and closure. Our thoughts remain with the victim’s loved ones, whose strength and resilience throughout this case have been extraordinary.”