2019 Auburn murder suspect sentenced to 25 years in prison
AUBURN, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — After five years, a suspect has been sentenced for the 2019 murder of 36-year-old Joshua Poole.
On Thursday, April 4, Cayuga County District Attorney Brittany Grome Antonacci announced that Judge Hon. Thomas Leone sentenced 26-year-old Gage Ashley to 25 years to life for his conviction of Murder in the Second Degree.
Last month, on Friday, March 15, Ashley was convicted and found guilty of killing Poole at 8 Delevan Street in the City of Auburn on November 15, 2019.
In November 2020, Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann said 38-year-old Christian Rivera planned a robbery in November of 2019 that resulted in the murder of Poole, which was the first homicide in Auburn since 2013.
According to Budelmann, Rivera provided Ashley — along with 22-year-old Lucciano Spagnola and 24-year-old Tyree Anglin — with weapons, ammunition and money to purchase gloves and masks.
Rivera also allegedly provided them with marijuana, cocaine, synthetic drugs and alcohol before sending them to commit the robbery, while he stayed at home.
Police said Ashley was armed with a handgun during the alleged robbery and Spagnola had a shotgun and Anglin was with them as well.
Investigators said the three bought ski masks from Walmart a few days before and tried to burn their clothes and hide their evidence from police in a crawl space. Police also found a vehicle –that they believed was the getaway car — in the Seneca River in Cato shortly after that was connected to the crime.
On Thursday, March 14, 2024, the jury began their deliberation around 1:15 p.m. and reached a verdict on Ashley by 1:45 p.m. on Friday. They not only found Ashley guilty of murder but of Attempted Robbery in the First Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree.
Special Counsel to the District Attorney Mark Moody and Chief Assistant District Attorney Christopher Valdina then handed the trial to the District Attorney’s office.
“Today, Gage Ashley’s attempt to evade justice for this murder ended with the guilty verdict. Justice was served for the murder of Joshua Poole. We are grateful to the jurors for the time they took to carefully evaluate the evidence. I also commend the Auburn Police Department, the New York State Police, the Cayuga County Sheriff’s Office, and multiple other agencies for their excellent work on this case,” said District Attorney Brittany Grome Antonacci.
On the day of Ashley’s sentencing, the court also imposed sentences of 15 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision for each of Ashley’s convictions of Attempted Robbery in the First Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree.
Each sentence represents the maximum sentence allowable by law. The Court was legally required to run the sentences concurrently because Ashley committed the crimes at the same time.
