Section: CAPITAL REGION 
Page: B8 
Date: Saturday, September 25, 1999 



COHOES MAN ACQUITTED OF ATTEMPTED MURDER 

MELISSA GRACE Staff writer 

Albany A county jury acquitted a Cohoes man of attempted murder charges 
Friday, apparently believing he fired six shots in self-defense. 

Wade Woodard, 31, of 100 Mann St., was found innocent of attempted murder 
and assault charges for an Aug. 21, 1998, attack on Joseph Thyrring, also 
of Cohoes. 

Woodard fired six bullets from his semiautomatic pistol at Thyrring, 
wounding him in the chest, right arm and hand. 

``It was self-defense,'' said James E. Long, Woodard's defense attorney. 
``My client was terrified. ... Mr. Thyrring admitted on the stand he had 
every intention of beating my client that night.'' 

Woodard, who had a license to carry a pistol, had a .25-caliber gun in his 
front pant pocket. Long said that Thyrring and Woodard, former friends, 
got into a violent struggle in a red Isuzu Rodeo that a third man was 
driving on Interstate 787. The driver pulled over near Green Island 
because of their fight. Thyrring climbed out, yanked open the back door 
and tried to pull Woodard out. 

Woodard was helpless, held in by a seat belt, and felt his only defense 
was to shoot, Long said. Thyrring was operated on and recovered from the 
wounds. 

Prosecutors maintained the shooting was not justifiable force. 

``We accept the jury's findings because it's the system that we work 
under,'' said Assistant District Attorney Cheryl F. Colman. ``I'm 
disappointed on behalf of the victim in this case ... who was unarmed at 
the time of the incident and shot several times.'' 

Long told the jury that Thyrring's criminal record included charges of 
resisting arrest and a 1998 incident in which he kicked in a police 
vehicle's window. Long also told the jury Thyrring was in a violent bar 
fight two weeks before he was shot by Woodard. 

Of his client carrying a loaded pistol that night, Long said, ``If he 
didn't have a gun, this never would have happen. But he has a fundamental 
right to defend himself.'' 

Nonetheless, Long said, ``He'll never touch a gun again as long as he 
lives, I'll tell you that.

Woodard was acquitted of one count of attempted second-degree murder, two 
counts of first-degree assault, one count second-degree assault and 
second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. 

Woodard, who has no criminal record, had faced a state prison sentence of 
12 to 25 years. He had been out of jail on $50,000 bail.