Three charged in Bailey murder

Three men were charged in the murder of University at Albany student Richard Bailey last week.

Devon Callicut, 19, of Rensselaer; King Jamell Modest, 18, of Albany; and Ricardo Caldwell, 18, of Schenectady, have all been charged in the shooting death of the 22-year-old senior that occurred on Oct. 20, 2008.

According to the Albany Police Department, Calicutt, who is currently serving time in prison from unrelated weapons possession charges, was the alleged shooter in what police called a botched robbery attempt. He is charged with first-degree murder.

Modest and Caldwell are both facing second-degree murder charges.

The three men, charged on Sept. 21, are accused of killing Bailey, an aspiring police officer who was just months away from graduating, while he walked home from a local bar after watching football with some friends.

Approximately seven minutes after the alleged murder of Bailey, Calicutt robbed another man on State and Ontario Streets. Modest and Caldwell were not with him.

For a long time, police only had one lead in the case: "potentially three males on bikes," said Detective James Miller, spokesman for APD.

The police always had leads in the case as the investigation went on but many were ruled out, Miller said.

"The case came together within the last two to three months," Miller said.

He said a combination of tips and police investigation ultimately led authorities to the three men.

Police refused to say whether or not the $20,000 cash reward played a part.

Earlier this summer, APD established a cash reward initiative called the Crime Solvers program. It rewards individuals who have useful information in connection with a violent crime.

The amount of $20,000 was offered with information in the Bailey case; the first reward offered through the program.

One of the alleged killers, King Modest, a student at Albany High School, garnered media attention in 2007, when Metroland published about him and Common Councilman Corey Ellis in an article by David King.

At one point in the article, Modest is labeled as Ellis' protégé. The article tells the story of Ellis' attempt to keep kids in West Hill section of Albany out of trouble and enlisting Modest as his student.

The article ends with Ellis being "overcome with a heavy heart" after he can't find Modest in the neighborhood, and essentially losing contact with him.

Richard Phelps, an alumnus of UAlbany, has cross paths with both Bailey and Modest since he came to Albany in 2005.

"Me and Richard both lived on the second floor of Alumni Quad," said Phelps. "My best college experiences came by way of him and our friends."

"It was a great shock to me when [Bailey] died," he said.

What came as a bigger shock Phelps was when he read the names of the alleged killers in the news.

"I immediately recognized the name," Phelps said.

Phelps interned at Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares' office in the summer of 2008, serving as a case manager in an outreach center, assigning community service to people who ran into trouble with the law - from college students to locals.

"I handled everything from forged I.D.'s to prostitution," Phelps said.

One day King Modest's file reached his desk.

Phelps declined to discuss the contents of the file, citing them as "very sensitive," but said Modest had little time to fulfill his community service hours in time because of all the criminal activity he had been involved in.

"He was a straight 'A' student at Albany High [School]," Phelps said. "I spoke to his grandmother. Little did I know he would be involved in the death of my friend."

"It's good that they found the guys, but it won't bring Bailey back," he said.

"It brings clarity, but it doesn't bring me joy."

On the day of the arrests, UAlbany spokesman Karl Lunnta released a statement from the university.

"The University at Albany community is grateful to the Albany Police Department for their tireless efforts in advancing the investigation into the senseless murder of UAlbany student Richard Bailey. Our thoughts remain with the Bailey family, their friends and loved ones."

"I hope that justice is served, and I hope they found the right kids," said Josh Sussman, president of the UAlbany Student Association. "This is an event that a lot of students will never forget. I'm glad to see the police followed through with their investigation."

Miller said, "There wasn't a lot of information at first, but now there is a sense of relief. It was not an easy case."