Patchita Tennant, an East Hampton CVS pharmacy manager accused of shooting her boyfriend in their Flanders home in September, remains free on bail after an attempted murder charge was brought against her in Suffolk County Criminal Court on Thursday.
Ms. Tennant was arraigned before Judge John B. Collins with about 25 supporters sitting in the courtroom.
Eric Aboulafia, an assistant district attorney, told the judge that Ms. Tennant "attempted to murder her longtime boyfriend" Andrew Mitchell in their house on Pleasure Drive on Sept. 5 at about 8:20 p.m. Mr. Mitchell was in the bathroom shaving, when she "kicked down the door" and screamed, "You aren't going to marry me? I'm going to kill you and kill myself," he said. Ms. Tennant stood silently next to her attorney with her head bowed and her eyes closed as Mr. Aboulafia described that night.
Mr. Mitchell was shot three times with a .38-caliber revolver, twice in the chest and once in the arm, "life threatening injuries," according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office.
The Southampton Town police had previously called his injuries non-life threatening, but Mr. Aboulafia said Mr. Mitchell, who called 911 after fleeing out the back of the house, underwent a three-hour surgery and sustained injuries to his diaphragm and lungs, so much so that part of a lung had to be removed. He spent eight days in the hospital. He was not in the courtroom.
The gun was recovered, though Mr. Aboulafia did not say where, and forensic tests are still being conducted.
Ms. Tennant told her attorney that the gun belonged to Mr. Mitchell and that she did not even know he had one until that evening. Austin Manghan has said previously that his client had been at her sister's house in Riverhead with her 3-year-old daughter and went home to get some clothes because they were going to spend the night there. He painted Mr. Mitchell as the aggressor and said his client was the victim of ongoing physical and emotional abuse. While there are no police records, he said family, friends, and co-workers can back up her claims.
After the proceeding, Mr. Manghan said the D.A.'s. version of the events had changed since the incident. "He said a couple of new things today, about the motivation, and we maintain, our story is the same," he said. "Nothing I've said is being changed. She's the victim. There's no way on earth any of those things are true."
Ms. Tennant turned herself in the day after the shooting. An Amber Alert had gone out for their daughter, though she was found safely with relatives. Ms. Tennant was initially charged with first-degree assault and criminal use of a firearm at the time of her arrest on Sept. 6. Friends and family posted a $500,000 bond, in the days after the shooting and she was released from the Suffolk County jail.
A grand jury handed down a four-count indictment, including the attempted murder charge, as well as criminal use of a firearm in the first degree and two counts of assault with intent to cause serious injury, on Oct. 31.
The D.A.'s office did not ask for a higher bail, noting that attempted murder is a class B felony, just as the initial charges were. Mr. Aboulafia pointed out that Ms. Tennant has made all scheduled court appearances. Judge Collins allowed the bail to transfer over to the upgraded charges.
The judge did set one bail condition, however. He ordered Ms. Tennant, who is not an American citizen and is from Jamaica, to turn over her passport, which had expired. Along with other family members, she had applied for a new one some time ago. Their passports have arrived, but hers has not. When it does arrive, she must contact her attorney "forthwith" and he will get in touch with the court to take possession of it.
Judge Collins also issued an order of protection for Mr. Mitchell, which had been in place since the incident. He did not issue an O.P. for their daughter, who is in the custody of her father. "It's not my intention to step on the Family Court's toes," he said. Ms. Tennant has been having supervised visits with her daughter every week, her attorney said. A Family Court proceeding is underway.
Before the arraignment was over, Mr. Manghan thanked Ms. Tennant's supporters and Judge Collins for allowing them in the courtroom. "They are welcome in my courtroom anytime," he said.
In the hallway, Ms. Tennant hugged each person. The group included co-workers from CVS, where she worked for 15 years, 9 of them as a manager, and is well-liked by co-workers and customers alike. She declined to speak to the media on the advice of her attorney.
