Cortland man who had manslaughter conviction overturned could get trial

ITHACA, N.Y. — Last week, an appellate court overturned a manslaughter conviction for a man who allegedly shot another man to death in the city of Ithaca. But does that mean he gets a trial on the 4-year-old case?

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Maybe.

Gary Lowe, of Cortland, was convicted of killing Francisco “Rico” Santiago, 26, in a residence at Chestnut Hill Apartments on Dec. 1, 2011 in the city of Ithaca, reports say.

He pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter on May 3, 2013, but that conviction was overturned last week when a court decided that Lowe did not understand that he would be unable to appeal the court's decision.

Related: Court overturns manslaughter conviction in 2011 Ithaca shooting death

Deputy District Attorney Andrew Bonavia said in an email that the court's decision essentially means the case will be restored to Lowe's "pre-pleading status" because Lowe's guilty plea was tossed out.

The original indictment against Lowe remains the same.

Bonavia said, "We have already met with investigators at the Ithaca Police Department and we are actively reviewing the case to determine how best to proceed."

Lowe is scheduled to appear at the Tompkins County Court to be re-arraigned at 2:45 p.m. Dec. 18.

After that, Lowe's attorney can either try to negotiate a plea deal or take the case to trial.

Featured photo by Brian Turner of Flikr.

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