Cayuga grand jury indicts Syracuse man in machete attack case

A Cayuga County grand jury handed up indictments in three separate weapons-related felony cases, moving forward charges that reach from Auburn to Syracuse and signaling how local prosecutors are using New York’s bail rules in public-safety cases.

The Syracuse defendant at the center of the machete case is Daniel Myvett, 35, of Syracuse. Prosecutors say Myvett allegedly swung a machete multiple times at an individual outside the Cayuga County Department of Social Services on Genesee Street in Auburn on April 14. He was indicted on one count of criminal possession of a weapon with intent to use unlawfully.

An indictment means a grand jury found enough evidence to formally accuse a defendant and send the case into the next phase of the criminal court process. Myvett’s case now moves through Cayuga County court, where he can face arraignment, future hearings and, if the matter is not resolved earlier, trial. If convicted, he faces 3 1/2 to 7 years in prison. Prosecutors said he remains out of custody because the charge is not bail-qualifying under New York State bail reform laws.

District Attorney Brittany Grome Antonacci said she is prosecuting all three cases and told NewsChannel 9 that the grand jury indicted Myvett, James Rio and Ishmael Thomas on different days. That distinction matters in a county where prosecutors are pressing separate cases tied to weapons allegations, while courts weigh when pretrial detention is allowed and when it is not.

The other indictments involve James Rio, 18, of Auburn, who was charged with second-degree assault after allegedly stabbing a victim in the chest with a knife outside the Fingerlakes Mall in Aurelius in March. Rio was arraigned before Judge Jon Budelmann and remanded to the Cayuga County Sheriff’s Office without bail. He faces up to seven years in prison, followed by three years of post-release supervision.

The third defendant, Ishmael Thomas, 32, of Syracuse, was indicted on first-degree burglary and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon after prosecutors said he allegedly entered a victim’s Auburn home and threatened her with a hammer. Thomas was also remanded without bail and faces a maximum aggregate sentence of 32 years in prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision.

For Syracuse-area readers, Myvett’s case is a reminder that county lines do not limit the reach of regional prosecutions. A defendant from Onondaga County can be pulled into a neighboring county’s court system quickly when an alleged offense unfolds in Auburn or another Cayuga County location, and the outcome can turn on both the underlying charge and the state’s bail framework.