Demetrio Daga was convicted of a number of firearm-related charges in New York. There were some particularly hinky things that took place with his arrest, at least in my opinion. Now, his sentencing has been delayed, possibly because the judge is playing games with a man's life.
Through it all, the man that the probation department said should get no jail time at all is locked up. This is extremely difficult for him.
Particularly because the holidays are coming up, and he's separated from his two sons.
Demetrio Daga is not doing well in New York’s Albany County jail, especially last week when his son Dimitri had his 8th birthday.
When Daga turned eight, his father was in the very same jail, but he was facing drug charges.
“When I turned eight, I got a letter from my father from the very facility I am now in,” Daga said this week. “Now, I’m here in some twisted nightmare and my son is in the same situation I was in. It’s a punch in the gut.”
Daga never heard from his father after that, which is not what he wants for his two young boys.
“That’s the most difficult thing for me—being away from my children,” he said. “They were constantly with me. If I was working outside, I’d teach them how to paint and sand. My eight-year-old knows how to start the mower on his own and mow the lawn. We’d go to a state park and see all of Albany from 1,500 feet up. We’d go there on mornings and weekends. I miss them both so much.
“So far, I’ve missed Dimitri’s birthday. I’m going to miss my wife’s birthday. I’m going to miss Christmas. I’ve never missed their birthdays, and I have never not been with them for the holidays. It’s difficult for me,” Daga said. “I try and call them every day. My oldest son keeps asking when he’s going to see me. It’s hard for them, and I don’t want to break down for them. I don’t want to tell them the wrong info or make promises I can’t keep.”
Lee Williams, at the link above, gets into some of the shenanigans that seem to be going on, both with the prosecutor's love for cameras and the judge likely trying to get a report that justifies prison time for a man who, at most, made guns for his personal use.
He's got more, and I wanted to focus on the fact that here we have a man who the authorities only pinged onto because they investigated lawful purchases from a third party, who convicted him of gun possession offenses — this despite everyone on the government's side involved making it about scary "ghost guns" and his manufacturing of them, as if he were an illicit arms dealer — and how he's having to deal with this; how his family is having to deal with this.
There's no reason to keep him locked up, especially since he hasn't been sentenced and, so far as I can tell, he's not a flight risk. The Albany County Probation Department didn't think he needed to go to prison at all and that probation was sufficient punishment. Why then is it that he's locked up at the holidays?
This is especially stupid because we've seen numerous dangerous criminals released right back into society despite far worse crimes.
But this is someone who isn't a street thug, so an example must be made.