Michael White sentenced for role in Catskill stabbings

CATSKILL―The accomplice of convicted killer Jeffrey Field is heading to state prison.

Michael White, 35, was sentenced to five and a half years, plus five years of probation, for his involvement in the brutal stabbings of Adam White and Christopher Gere in the early morning hours of August 22, 2021, on Summit Avenue in Catskill.

Adam White, 28, who is no relation to Michael White, died at the scene. Gere was airlifted to Albany Medical Center with serious injuries but survived.

Field, 37, of Round Top, is currently serving 50 years to life after being convicted in November of second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder and second-degree assault.

Chief Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Low described the attack as a “case of mistaken identity” during Field’s trial. Jurors were shown a short video that depicts the two victims walking home from a local bar and being approached by Field and Michael White who initiate a fight.

Michael White, who was initially charged with second-degree murder, second-degree assault, and tampering with physical evidence, testified against Field during his trial. Shortly after Field’s sentencing in February, White appeared in front of Judge Megan Galligan and took a plea deal, admitting to the assault charge in exchange for the other charges being dropped.

During White’s sentencing on Wednesday, Galligan said she believed he never intended for anyone to be hurt or killed that fateful morning, but he was “too impaired to see or think straight.”

She told White, a father of four from Catskill, that he needs to get sober and “address whatever it is that led you to alcohol in the first place.”

A New York State Supreme Court justice from Sullivan County, Galligan presided over the cases after both Greene County Court judges, Charles Tailleur and David Costanzo, recused themselves due to previous dealings with Field during their time as prosecutors.

Both Field and White have previously served time in prison. Field has been sentenced twice for burglary convictions in Greene County and was last released in January of 2021. State records also show that Michael White served just over two years in prison for a 2011 burglary conviction in Greene County.

Field began his prison term last month and is currently incarcerated at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora. Michael White remains in the Greene County Jail awaiting transfer to state prison.