Jeffrey Bashaw (left) was convicted of murder in the fatal shooting of Leroy Chisom (right).

By Michael Mashburn From Daily Voice

A Schenectady man has been convicted of murder and multiple weapons charges in the 2023 execution-style killing of a city resident.

Jeffrey Bashaw, 56, was found guilty of second-degree murder and related charges by a Schenectady County jury on Wednesday, Aug. 20, in the death of Leroy Chisom.

Bashaw and co-defendant Kevin Dingle lured the 41-year-old Chisom from his bedroom on State Street in Schenectady on Oct. 22, 2023, prosecutors said. The two men, wearing masks, gloves, and dark clothing, shot Chisom at least five times each before fleeing in under a minute.

Dingle pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder and is serving 20 years to life in prison. Bashaw went to trial and was convicted after less than an hour of jury deliberation.

Investigators identified the pair within hours using video from the District Attorney’s Office’s surveillance camera project. Cameras showed the masked men entering and exiting the boarding house and later tracked them as they switched vehicles several times in an attempt to evade police.

That evening, Dingle’s home was surrounded and both men surrendered. Police recovered melted cellphones on a stove inside the residence. The murder weapons and clothing were later found hidden in bags in a nearby yard, prosecutors said.

Forensic evidence linked both men to the crime. Ballistics showed two different guns fired ten shots, with Bashaw’s DNA found on the trigger of one weapon. Surveillance video from inside the building also showed both men without masks.

Jurors also heard a recorded jail call in which Bashaw responded “Murder” when a family member asked what he had done.

When the relative asked who Bashaw had killed, he said he couldn’t discuss it on the phone because “the district attorneys are on this line.”

"Mr. Bashaw and his accomplice Mr. Dingle may have been bungling fools, but we should not lose sight of the fact that they are also cold-blooded executioners and our community is well served by imposition of life sentences to both," said Schenectady County DA Robert Carney.

Authorities believe the killing may have been linked to a non-fatal shooting at the same address earlier that month, though the victim of that shooting has refused to cooperate.

Bashaw faces up to 25 years to life in prison on the murder conviction, with the potential for additional consecutive sentences on the weapons and tampering counts. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 24.