SCHENECTADY, NY – Anthony Romero was convicted in Schenectady County Court of Second-Degree Murder and other felony charges. The verdict was delivered by Acting Judge Mark J. Caruso, following a trial concerning the 2022 murder of Treavine Tate on his 21st birthday. Alongside the murder charge, Romero was found guilty of two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon and Tampering with Physical Evidence.
On the night of May 30, 2022, Romero fatally shot Tate on Hulett Street using an illegally possessed pistol. Surveillance footage, including from the District Attorney’s Office Camera Project, recorded the fatal encounter, which escalated from a verbal argument. The evidence showed Romero pursued Tate into the street and shot him multiple times as he tried to walk away, continuing even after Tate fell.
Romero fled the scene immediately after the shooting, and his weapon was not recovered. After an exhaustive search, he was arrested five months later in Albany by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force. During the trial, Romero admitted to the shooting, claiming self-defense, although he acknowledged knowing Tate was unarmed.
The jury dismissed the self-defense claim, siding with the prosecution’s argument that Romero had other options than to shoot. He is now awaiting sentencing scheduled for May 1 at 11 a.m. Romero could face up to 25 years to life for the murder charge, with additional time for the weapon and evidence tampering charges, potentially leading to a maximum sentence of 42 years to life.
