TUPPER LAKE — A Tupper Lake man who was involved in a tense six hour standoff with law enforcement at the Tupper Lake Stewart’s Shops in January 2023 was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday.
David Payrot, 45, pleaded guilty to making a terroristic threat, a felony, before Franklin County Judge Craig Carriero in July.
APPORPRIATE SENTENCE
Franklin County District Attorney Elizabeth Crawford said his sentence includes three years in state prison followed by three years of post-release supervision.
“I feel like it is an appropriate sentence,” she said.
She said it balances holding him accountable for his actions — the fear they caused and the large law enforcement response that night — with the fact that he didn’t harm anyone, while taking into consideration the mental health issues he was having at the time.
‘IN A BAD SPOT’
Crawford said Payrot has accepted all responsibility for his actions that night and is remorseful for the standoff.
She said he was reacting to a bad cancer diagnosis and had been drinking again while suffering through mental health issues.
He was “in a bad spot in his life,” she said.
“He wasn’t looking to harm anyone. He was more looking to harm himself,” Crawford said. “It is a very sad situation.”
ADDICTION TREATMENT
While incarcerated at the Franklin County Jail, she said Payrot has been in mental health and addiction treatment. His sentence in state prison will begin soon, Crawford said. She hopes he is able to become a productive member of society again after his release.
During a snowstorm on Jan. 25, 2023, Payrot walked into the convenience store and told employees he had a bomb and asked everyone to get out of the building.
This led to a lockdown of the town’s main district long into the night as numerous law enforcement agencies assembled outside. New York State Police negotiators eventually got in contact with Payrot on a cellphone while he was still in the store and worked to end the situation peacefully.
“The outcome was exactly how we’d want it to be. Nobody was hurt. He didn’t actually have a bomb,” Crawford said.
DIDN’T INTEND TO HARM ANYONE
Payrot had claimed he had a high-yield bomb in his backpack with a remote “deadman” detonator switch, but after he surrendered, the State Police Bomb Disposal Unit determined it was not actually an explosive.
Crawford said it was clear he didn’t intend to harm anyone; he told everyone to leave the store, did not have a weapon and did not hold any hostages in the standoff.
Initially, Payrot had also been charged with second-degree placing a false bomb or hazardous substance, a felony.
Crawford said the plea agreement she reached with Payrot was for him to plead guilty to the making a terroristic threat charge, a violent felony, and not pursue the other non-violent felonies.