Ballston man convicted for violent shovel attack

BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. (NEWS10) — A Ballston man was convicted on Monday of beating an unconscious man with a shovel. Troy M. Tenace, 33, was found guilty on four charges, including felony assault, for the September 24, 2021, attack.

A jury convicted Tenace of choking a woman last September when she tried to leave his house. When the woman called her family for help, her father arrived, and Tenace hit him in the back of the head with a shovel.

The woman's father fell to the ground and passed out. Tenace continued to beat him while he was unconscious, causing multiple serious physical injuries, including a skull fracture, bleeding on the brain, and traumatic brain injury.

"Both victims, in this case, know the defendant," commented Saratoga County District Attorney Karen A. Heggen. "They demonstrated strength and courage in telling the trial jury about the vicious attack by Defendant Tenace. To this day, the victim of the violent First-Degree Assault continues to live with the effects of the injuries he suffered at the hands of the Defendant." Heggen also noted the work of the Saratoga County Sheriff's Office in handling the investigation of the case.

Tenace is scheduled to be sentenced in Saratoga County Court on December 6. He faces the potential of more than 25 years in prison. The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Jenny Pratt and Meghan Horton.