Man Appealing Murder Conviction of Hampton Bays Resident

A Farmingville man previously convicted of killing a Hampton Bays man in 2010 is currently appealing his case with his attorneys saying he did not get a fair trial.

Anthony Oddone, 30 of Farmingville, was sentenced to 22 years in 2010 after being convicted of killing Andrew Reister during an altercation at the Southampton Publick House where Reister worked as a bouncer. The sentence was reportedly brought down five years in 2011 by a four-judge panel who instead issued five years of post-release probation.

According to a report in Newsday, the state Court of Appeals heard arguments on Nov. 14, with judges focusing mostly on trial testimony about how long Oddone had Reister in a headlock. Marc Wolinsky, Oddone’s attorney, reportedly argued that his client was acting in self-defense and fear, and that Oddone did not have Reister in a headlock for as long as witnesses such as former deputy medical examiner James Wilson had testified.

“Choking somebody who’s already passed out is a funny sort of self-defense,” Judge Robert Smith said.

Wolinsky fought Wilson’s conclusion that it took two to four minutes of neck pressure to stop Reister’s heart, and during defense questioning Wilson testified that his conclusion was based on burst blood vessels in Reister’s eyelids and his interpretation from years of experience.

Wolinsky argues that Wilson’s experience is “just never enough,” that other forensic scientists and cardiologists say that fatal heart stoppage can happen from as little as 10 to 15 seconds of neck compression and that then Suffolk Count Court C. Randall Hinrichs should have disallowed the testimony. Wolinsky also argues that Hinrichs should have allowed the defense to call Dr. Steven Penrod, who is a psychologist that would have testified that eyewitnesses typically overestimate the length of a traumatic event.

According to Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Anne E. Oh, Hinrichs ruled properly and Wilson’s testimony was appropriate. Smith questioned Oh if Hinrichs shouldn’t have held a hearing to ensure Wilson’s theory, specifically asking if there was a risk of “charlatans selling junk science to jurors.” Oh said that there typically is a risk, but not in this case.

Judge Eugene Piggot Jr. said that correction officers that knew Reister often appeared in large numbers during the trial, and that Hinrichs could have allowed Penrod’s testimony on perceptions of time. Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam also said that Penrod’s testimony could have helped the jury.

Oh responded that while duration of the hold was key, its force is ultimately more important toward Reister’s heart stopping.

Patch called into the district attorney’s office Wednesday to check for an update, and was told nothing further has currently developed in this case.

Click here for the full report of the case on Newsday (Subscription).