Syracuse, NY - After winning the largest settlement ever granted by the city of Syracuse, Tatalisha Chesna has spent the last several weeks staying in hotels, partying and using illegal drugs, police said. And now she’s become a fugitive – skipping a court appearance on drug charges, city police allege. Chesna, formerly Tatalisha Mack, 28, won $3 million in...
Tatalisha Chesna, who won $3 million from Syracuse in the settlement of a civil suit in March, is wanted by police after failing to appear in court on a drug possession charge, according to Syracuse police. Since winning her settlement, Chesna has been staying in hotels, partying and using illegal drugs, police alleged. And now she’s become a fugitive – skipping a court appearance on drug charges, city police allege.
Chesna, formerly Tatalisha Mack, 28, won $3 million in March, eight months after being hit and dragged by a city-owned pick-up truck driven by a public works department worker. Chesna, who was nine-months pregnant, lost a leg below the knee and suffered broken bones. Her daughter, Sonyria, was born the same day with severe disabilities, including brain damage and cerebral palsy. The baby also is partially blind and deaf.
Police from Syracuse and Oneida County say Chesna and her spouse, Sonya Chesna, have been using some of the settlement on drugs, gambling and hotel rooms, which they’ve used for parties and damaged to the point of being thrown out of several hotels.
The Chesnas could not be reached for comment.
The settlement terms limited the amount Tatalisha Chesna received immediately to $250,000 and protected $1 million in a trust for Sonyria, court documents show. The baby’s money is administered by a court-appointed trustee, lawyer Mary Kibe-Smith. After legal fees to James L. Alexander and Medicaid lien payments, among other expenses, about $686,000 was put into the trust, documents show.
Kibe-Smith said the trust ensures the money is spent only on the baby’s needs, but would not comment on how much of the trust has been spent.
After legal fees, Tatalisha Chesna received $1 million, $750,000 of which was put into an annuity that distributes monthly payments for life, court papers show.
Syracuse police have been searching for Tatalisha Chesna and Sonya Chesna, 29, for about a week, after they failed to appear in city court on drug charges, said Sgt. John Savage, of the police warrant squad.
“Unfortunately, they have the means to go around from hotel to hotel, staying until they wear out their welcome,” Savage said. “It’s been a detriment to locating them.”
The Chesnas were charged June 1 after city police said they found them in possession of marijuana and crack cocaine in a room at the Genesee Grande Hotel. The women admitted using crack cocaine but told police they do not do it in front of the baby, police said. Sonyria was staying with Tatalisha Chesna’s sister at the time of the arrest, police said.
On June 29, the women were again arrested, accused of having marijuana and cocaine in a hotel room – this time at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, Oneida County Sheriff’s investigators said.
Tatalisha Chesna told investigators she had been partying the previous night with friends, one of whom had left the cocaine, said Investigator Richard Dodge. Sonya Chesna told police she bought the marijuana from a man she met while playing the “money wheel,” Dodge said.
City police have received several tips about the Chesnas whereabouts, Savage said. They were recently staying at the Budget Inn on South Salina Street, but checked out Sunday, he said. Anyone with information about the Chesnas may call city police at 442-5230.
Contact Meghan Rubado at mrubado@syracuse.com or 470-3260.