Scientific theory

Here’s the scenario: you’re walking down the street during the pre-dawn hours of the morning and there it is: a perfectly serviceable brick, placidly resting on the sidewalk in front of an unblemished plate-glass door. Like any common street-dweller in Schenectady’s Hamilton Hill neighborhood, you decide to pick up the brick and test how it and the laws of physics might affect the aforementioned glass, if a touch of propulsion is added.

This was the dilemma faced by esteemed local Physicist John Philip Sayers as he was strolling out for his morning latte and a copy of the Wall Street Journal; would the glass break? As he speculated using advanced quantum theory, the pane shattered, leaving a gaping hole into the gritty darkened electronics bodega.

But before the young theorist could advance forward to his intended destination, another burning question blazed a trail across his whirring thought process: what if some sort of anomalous gravitational pull somehow created an electromagnetic field across freshly created hole, thereby thwarting entrance into the store? The store’s alarm hadn’t gone off, meaning there was a chance such a freakish scientific event was occurring.

So in the interest of science, Sayers decided it would be a good idea to try passing something through the broken doorway; namely himself. Lo and behold, he was able to enter the store, where he then realized some unaware shopper had carelessly left his or her collection of cell phones beneath a display case. Being the upstanding citizen that he is, Sayers decided to collect the devices with full intention of bringing them to the proper authorities.

Of course, there was one more experiment Sayers needed to conduct before leaving: gauge the reaction of store owner Donald Khemraj as a strange man repeatedly pummels the metal-reinforced glass store front with a pipe wrench. Regrettably, the store owner didn’t all that interested in Sayers’ research. And before he could explain his ground-breaking work, the shopkeeper pumped his chest full of buckshot.

The rampaging store owner and his son –clearly bent on some sort of sadistic war path –were about to make a Jackson Pollack mural with the contents of Sayers’ head before the police pulled up, he told the Times Union in an “exclusive” interview

“I basically gave up, and you shoot me, so basically the police saved my life,” groaned the 21-year-old man from his Albany Medical Center hospital bed.

Saved his life and then beat him mercilessly, Sayers went on to explain. They cursed at him. They kicked him. They callously ignored his pleas for the better interest of science until he collapsed and pointed to the quarter-sized hole blown through his bicep.

The bi-polar “good kid” who admitted to being “disrespectful” on bad days just wants a chance to start from scratch. However, with all the publicity he and his family have brought to this case, it’s tough to say if another chance is even a possiblity. In his hour-long interview with the reporter, Sayers all but admitts to the charges against him. The man described as having “the mental ability of an 8-year-old” also apparently spoke to the reporter without once receiving proper counsel, something that could further complicate the case down the road.

Yes, there’s quite a different story dripping from the headlines in the days following Sayers’ botched burglary. And it’s debatable whether the TU’s hyper-coverage –including speculation from unaffiliated defense attorneys –has done anything other than muddy the waters for investigators, as they try to gauge the shopkeeper’s culpability.

It’s not something attorneys on either side will welcome, given the case is already showing some hallmarks of another vigilante shooting that took place in a New York City subway car more than two decades ago. The innocents in “The Hill” these days are scarred and scared. There’s a shooting almost every day and a killing once a month. It’ll be interesting to see the community’s reaction if diabetic Guyanese business owner in his late-50s is lead away in cuffs for doing what the city police seemingly can’t do: protect the neighborhood.