LITTLE VALLEY, N.Y. — A bike path stabbing suspect led police on a low-speed chase on an electric scooter tricycle through Allegany Tuesday before he was apprehended.
Seth A. Palmer, 50, of 86 Maple Ave., Allegany, was charged with assault and menacing, and was remanded to Cattaraugus County Jail with bail set at $10,000.
Sgt. Tyler Taylor of Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Department explained the stabbing victim had a minor injury. “He has a laceration of the back of his hand. He received a few stitches and was released.”
As to how the altercation came about, it all started on the popular bicycle path alongside Constitution Avenue near St. Bonaventure.
“The victims were not even from this area,” Taylor said, explaining they were in town for the holidays, and were walking a dog along the bike path when Palmer — on his tricycle — came up behind them.
“He had some issue with them, I believe it may have been about them not having a light,” the sergeant said. “He confronted them and it escalated from there.”
Palmer has mental health issues, Taylor said, and was recently cited by New York State Police for a similar incident in which he was carrying a firearm. “This is the second time he’s done something like this in two weeks.”
However, Palmer was only issued appearance tickets and released rather than sent to jail after the earlier, non-violent altercation.
On Tuesday, while deputies were on the scene with the victims, Palmer came out of a St. Bonaventure University parking lot on his tricycle.
“We’ve dealt with this subject on other occasions,” Taylor explained. “We attempted to get him to stop.”
He did not.
“We followed him around Allegany at 10 or 15 miles per hour until he stopped,” the sergeant said.
Palmer stopped because he drove home. And was taken into custody.
“We had actually been looking for him when the call came over the air,” Taylor said, explaining Palmer was to be taken for a mental health evaluation even before this incident occurred.
While not an ideal situation, the criminal justice system can help monitor a person’s mental health treatment to make sure they are receiving the care their illness requires.
“If they are on the street and are not properly medicating, they could harm themselves or others,” he said.
