State police say a 20-year-old New York college student has been charged in the fatal stabbing of an upstate volunteer firefighter during a New Year's Eve party.
Troopers on Friday say Juantae Brown of Spring Valley in Rockland County was arraigned Thursday night on second-degree murder charges in town court in Crawford in Orange County.
The SUNY Delhi student is accused of killing 20-year-old Justin Speights of Scotchtown during a fight early on the morning of Jan. 1.
Speights was a member of the volunteer fire district in Silver Lake in neighboring Sullivan County. Dozens of firefighters filled the courtroom as Brown pleaded not guilty to the charges. He's being held in the Orange County Jail without bail.
Information on his lawyer wasn't available.
Police say investigators interviewed more than 250 people in several states to gather information.
