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Sherifullah Hashimi, 62, was found guilty on seven counts in all, mostly felonies, by a Schenectady County jury on Monday, Feb. 3, according to the district attorney’s office.
The case stemmed from a violent incident at the Southgate Housing Complex on Frank Street in Schenectady on July 23, 2023. Multiple people called 911 reporting that a woman had been struck by a car.
Surveillance video obtained by Schenectady Police showed Hashimi circling the apartment complex for 15 minutes before spotting his ex-wife arrive. When the victim exited her car and started walking across the street, Hashimi accelerated and swerved across the oncoming lane before deliberately hitting her, prosecutors said.
The force of the impact launched the victim onto a parked SUV, preventing her from being pinned between vehicles. Hashimi’s car hit the SUV with such force that two additional parked vehicles were damaged.
Emergency responders from the Schenectady Fire Department and Mohawk Ambulance Service transported the victim to Albany Medical Center, where she was treated and released the same day with non-life-threatening injuries.
After the crash, Hashimi fled on foot, disappearing for 10 hours before turning himself in at the Schenectady Police Department.
During questioning, he claimed he had mistakenly hit the accelerator instead of the brake. However, a forensic analysis of the car’s “black box” data, conducted by New York State Police, disproved Hashimi’s explanation. The data revealed that just over three seconds before impact, Hashimi had his foot on the brake—but then pressed the accelerator at 100% for more than two seconds while steering into the woman.
During the trial, the victim testified about years of abuse and harassment by Hashimi, who had repeatedly followed her, showed up at her home unannounced, and made threats against her life. She had previously obtained a protection order from Schenectady County Family Court, which was in effect at the time of the attack.
After deliberating for approximately two hours, a Schenectady County jury found Hashimi on the following counts:
- Attempted murder in the second degree
- Attempted assault
- Assault
- Aggravated criminal contempt
- Criminal contempt
- Leaving the scene of a personal injury incident
- Leaving the scene of a property damage incident
The jury acquitted him of one count of criminal mischief, a misdemeanor, relating to the damaged vehicles.
Hashimi faces up to 25 years in prison when he’s sentenced in April.
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