VOORHEESVILLE — A Colonie man was arrested March 6 on assault and drug charges after, police say, he slashed a Voorheesville man in the face with a knife, and large quantities of heroin were found in the suspect’s apartment.
Nicholas Desanctis, 21, was driven to Pleasant Street in Voorheesville to confront someone he accused of stealing his drugs, according to a release from the Albany County Sheriff’s Office. The altercation at 45 Pleasant Street ended with Desanctis stabbing the man in the face and fleeing the scene, the release said.

The victim helped police find Desanctis by describing his car and giving a probable location — he knew Desanctis was a resident of Colonie Towers.

“All [the victim] could tell us was the floor and Colonie Towers,” Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said. The victim knew Desanctis only as “Nick,” police said.

The lead was helpful, with investigators finding the car in the Colonie Center parking lot near the Sears auto service entrance.

Desanctis and two other men were found in the car, all were detained and brought in for questioning. Desanctis was in possession of a knife — believed to have been used in the assault — and had blood stains on his clothing as well as a cut on his finger, the release said.

The driver of the car said he had driven Desanctis to Voorheesville in exchange for heroin, which he did not have on his person at the time of arrest, Apple said, and had no charges filed against him.

“We’re trying to get some of these people help,” Apple said, “not have them sit in jail.”

Statements given by Desanctis and the other men were used as evidence in having a search warrant granted for Desanctis’s residence at 420 Sand Creek Building 1 apartment 605.

Inside, investigators found 410 bags of heroin, with a street value of $4,500, and over $3,000 in cash.

The victim was treated at Albany Medical Center Hospital and released. He was not charged with any crimes regarding the allegations Descantis put against him.

“You have to look at if they’re culpable and it’s a chargeable offense,” Apple said, including there was no evidence the victim was in possession of drugs.

Desanctis was charged with assault in the second degree, a felony, criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor, and was arraigned in Voorheesville. He was also charged by the Town of Colonie with criminal sale of a controlled substance, a felony, and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third and fourth degree, both felonies.