Ontario County DA addresses felony case dismissal over trial and discovery rule breaches

GENEVA, N.Y. — A felony case dating back to December 2024 out of Ontario County has been dismissed due to constitutional violations, according to the Ontario County District Attorney’s Office.

In a statement from District Attorney Jason MacBride, the office, under former DA Jim Ritts, violated speedy trial and discovery rules in the prosecution of an assault that happened on New Year’s Eve 2024.

MacBride said the office failed to present the case to a grand jury for over five months, and the office failed to properly provide evidence to the defense.

On Dec. 31, 2024, Geneva Police say Horace Betts, Jamie Downing, and Tyler Liberatore all attacked another person in what investigators call a gang assault. All three were charged with first-degree gang assault.

In a statement from DA Jason MacBride, he said the people have six months of speedy trial readiness. According to MacBride, it wasn’t until he was appointed as Acting District Attorney in December of 2025 that efforts were made to find police evidence that were provided to the previous ADA in January 2025.

MacBride said First Assistant James Nobles’ immediately went to the Geneva Police Department to get the discovery and give that to the defense counsel. MacBride said despite their efforts, they were “unable to save this case from dismissal.”

“This dismissal is extremely unfortunate on many levels,” MacBride said in the statement. “Most notably is the fact that a real victim will not receive the justice they deserve due to the inactions of those entrusted to serve him.”

At the end of the statement, MacBride said “As we continue to rebuild this Office, we understand that there may be other cases in this predicament. We are working tirelessly to ensure that each victim gets the justice they deserve while protecting the fundamental rights of the accused.”

Read the full statement below:

Press Release – Statement from District Attorney on Case Dismissal 01-15-26 Download

In August, Ritts announced his retirement after he narrowly lost the Republican nomination to MacBride in July’s primary. He served the DA’s office for 25 years, and was the DA for nearly seven.