Alleged Halloween party stabber appears in court

By KEVIN LIMITI• Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

COOPERSTOWN  – An Oneonta man, whose violent altercation in Unadilla ended in a stabbing and the victim having to be taken by helicopter to a medical facility, appeared in Otsego County court Monday, May 24, to face charges of assault in the first and second degree.

Richard Gantt voluntarily agreed to be interviewed by state police, according to testimony.

“I was called because it was a serious case,” Jeremy Hicks, investigator for the New York State Police, said via video in the courtroom.

The confrontation which led to the stabbing occurred on Sunday, Oct, 18, 2020, at a Halloween party, with Logan Kabana of Oneonta.

Gantt, who is Black, claimed during the police interview that Kabana had made racial remarks, leading to the fight.

However, Kabana said during the proceedings, that he had been hanging out with Gantt and did a shot with him when he made a remark that somebody who was hanging out near the fire pit was a serial killer and was going to get Gantt. This allegedly caused Gantt to fly into a rage and resulted in Kabana being assaulted and stabbed.

The next day, Kabana picked out Gantt from a photo array and police sought out Gantt’s girlfriend, who works at Springbrook, and eventually got him to come down to the state police barracks in Oneonta, where he was read his Miranda rights.

Lambert at one point warned an observer in the courtroom, who was shaking their head demonstrably in reaction to an overruled objection, to no longer do that or they would be removed from the courtroom.

There was no return court appearance set, but Lambert predicted they would convene again in about a month.