A recent article on a New York Coalition for Open Government report about public comment at meetings has irritated some local officials. The article quoted th
Rance Freeman
A Mayville man will spend more than a decade in prison for the November 2008 killing of his acquaintance a case boosted by advances in DNA testing technology and putting to rest a years-long investigation.
Rance “Randy” Freeman Jr. was sentenced Wednesday before Judge Susan M. Eagan to 14 years in state prison and five years post-release supervision for the killing of 55-year-old Jeffrey Johnson. The village man was indicted on murder charges in November 2018 before pleading guilty to a count of first-degree manslaughter in February of this year.
The COVID-19 pandemic pushed sentencing back by about seven months.
According to Chautauqua County District Attorney Patrick Swanson, the case was aided significantly by DNA forensic analysis that was not as advanced at the time of the Nov. 8, 2008, homicide. Specifically, Swanson said use of a DNA testing system known as STRmix helped investigators connect the murder weapon a fire place tool to Freeman.