Prison time ordered for gun offender in deadly biker gang shootout
The 2021 shootout at an Albany club left 29-year-old Alexander Bolton dead, six others injured
By Tyler A. McNeil,Staff Writer Updated July 18, 2025 11:29 a.m.
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/collin-billingsley-imprisoned-weapons-charge-20775210.php
ALBANY — A 33-year-old man will spend more than a decade in prison for a weapons possession conviction tied to a 2021 biker gang shootout that left a local man dead.
Collin Billingsley, wearing an orange jail uniform, was sentenced by Albany County Judge William Little on Friday to 12 years in prison and five years on parole.
Billingsley wielded a loaded handgun during the Oct. 9, 2021, mass shooting that left 29-year-old Alexander Bolton dead and six others injured. Billingsley was originally charged with second-degree murder but pleaded guilty in April to a felony weapons possession charge.
“Alex did not shoot himself in the back,” Michele Morgan Bolton, the victim’s mother, said as she read from a prepared statement. “He did not leave himself on the street to die. I am haunted that my precious child left this world in agony alone — the fear and hopelessness you must have felt are unbearable weights for me to carry.”
Billingsley stared off as Bolton’s mother, a former Times Union reporter; his sister, Victoria Bolton; and his father, Jeffrey Bolton, took turns speaking of the pain following the victim’s death.
“He was an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan,” his sister said. “I hope (Billingsley) thinks about him every Veterans Day.”
Billingsley declined to speak before the judge imposed this sentence.
Police arrested 10 people for weapons charges inside the club at 117 N. Lake Ave. on the night of the shooting. Arrest reports from the initial investigation described the club as a hangout for a local “Suicide Squad” motorcycle club
Angela Kelly, Billingsley’s attorney, told the judge she felt sympathy for Bolton’s family, but noted her client was not convicted of killing him.
Little spoke of the recklessness of the shootout.
“Ms. Kelly, I’d also be remiss if I didn’t say that I watched the video,” Little said, referencing footage of the shooting. “And whether or not your client is admitting to causing the death of this person, I will say that he was a part of this incident within the city of Albany where tons of people were shooting guns throughout the middle of the city of Albany as if there was no other people living there.”
Billingsley is the only person to plead guilty in connection with the shootout. So far, Billingsley is the only person to have accepted a plea in connection with the shooting. A spokesperson for the Albany County District Attorney’s Office said Friday the investigation into the case remains ongoing and no one else has been indicted.
More than 70 shell casings fired from several handguns were recovered in the aftermath of the shooting, which was one of the worst spasms of gun violence in the city’s recent history.
The shooting took place at a venue called The Lounge @ 117 North Lake. The lounge was operating without the proper permits, city officials said and Mayor Kathy Sheehan described the location as an “illegal, after-hours club.”
Days after the shooting, the Times Union reported that law enforcement sources said their investigation was focused on whether individuals with ties to the Pagans Motorcycle Club allegedly went to the location because of an earlier incident in which they believed someone associated with another gang had insulted them by screeching a tire in their direction.