April 2007

Body Found - Tracy Baxter @ 12:04 pm EST
The body of a man who jumped from the Tappan Zee Bridge last month has been recovered from the Hudson River. A fisherman discovered the body of 28 year old Sean McKeever of Bloomingburg in the river near Piermont in Rockland County. Police were able to make a positive identification through dental records and body tattoos.

Another Arrest - Tracy Baxter @ 11:54 am EST
State Police have arrested a 4th suspect in connection with the robberies of Dollar Stores in the area. Thursday night, 18 year old Dayron Bennett of Middletown was charged with first degree robbery for his role in the heist at the Dollar Tree store at Dunning Farm Plaza in the Town of Wallkill last February. He's accused of holding up the store with 18 year old David Bennett who is no relation. Two others are in custody. Five Dollar Stores in Orange County were robbed beginning last December. Surveillance photos helped police develop leads that led to the arrests.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Change of Heart - Tracy Baxter @ 1:06 pm EST
Earl Hayes has had a change of heart and he's hoping to avoid a hefty prison term. Hayes is the 37 year old Poughkeepsie man who pleaded guilty in March in Sullivan county to charges of identity theft, scheme to defraud, possession of stolen property and forged credit cards. Police say a search of his apartment turned up 5 thousand plastic credit card blanks and computer equipment used to encode the cards with stolen account numbers. An alert clerk at the Wal-Mart in the Town of Thompson discovered two different names on a card Hayes was using...triggering an investigation that led to the arrest. Now, Hayes wants to withdraw his guilty plea, claiming he wasn't properly represented in court. A decision on his request is expected May 21st. He faces up to 11 years in prison.

More Pipe Thefts - Tracy Baxter @ 1:01 pm EST
Another Sullivan county man faces potential prison time for a major copper pipe theft spree. 24 year old Lee Goldberg of Woodridge was charged with 24 counts of burglary and grand larceny. Town of Fallsburg police say Goldberg broke into a number of buildings on the property of the Lake House Hotel in Woodridge and cut out about 400 pounds of copper pipe which he then sold to a local recycling center. Fallsburg Police say more arrests could come from their investigation of the thefts. Earlier this week Christopher Negron pleaded guilty to stealing copper piping out of an unoccupied house in Liberty. He's expected to be sentenced to 6 years in prison.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Pot Grower - Tracy Baxter @ 10:28 am EST
State Police in Ulster county say he had a lot more than just stored materials in his attic. Police investigating Plattekill resident David Mulligan found a marijuana growing operation in the attic of his Milton Turnpike home. Police walked out with a large quantity of marijuana as well as equipment used to grow the pot. Among the charges Mulligan faces....unlawfully growing marijuana.

Kellly's Controversy - Tracy Baxter @ 10:22 am EST
It figures to be a lively meeting at Tusten Town Hall May 14th. That's when residents upset with an adult home known as Kelly's will demand action from the town board. Kelly's is the Narrowsburg Home for Adults and people living nearby say those in the home are panhandling, stealing from cars and endangering the quality of life in the neighborhood. Residents claim the facility is not being run in accordance of state and county codes and they'll bring petitions ...demanding changes...to the board meeting.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Threat Arrests - Tracy Baxter @ 12:41 pm EST
The scare is over at Beacon High School and now two teens...including one from Sullivan county...face charges for causing it. The teens are accused of using computers to send threats of a mass shooting that would occur at Beacon High School. The e-mail threats led to a decision yesterday to lock down the school and dismiss students early. State Police have charged 16 year old Keith Wolf from the Sullivan County Town of Fremont with aggravated harassment and falsely reporting an incident. A second teen involved in the scare is from Bakersfield California and will face charges there.

Gas Station Stabbing - Tracy Baxter @ 12:28 pm EST
A man from Monroe has been charged with felony assault for stabbing a man during an argument at a gas pump. Police say 41 year old William Brunson began yelling at another man because his car was blocking a pump at a gas station in Fishkill Sunday. The argument escalated into a fight and Brunson reportedly stabbed the man several times. The victim was treated and later released from the hospital. Brunson is due in court Wednesday.

Rape Conviction - Tracy Baxter @ 12:26 pm EST
An Ellenville man faces up to 25 years in prison after an Ulster County court jury convicted him of raping a 19 year old woman last June. 49 year old David Rhodes was convicted following a week-long trial. At the time of the rape, Rhodes was living in Ellenville as a Level 3 sex offender. He had been convicted of rape in Westchester in 1986 and returned to prison in 2000 for violating parole.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Drug Raids - Tracy Baxter @ 1:11 pm EST
Neighbors had been complaing about drug dealing at Saxony Manor Apartments in Middletown and Thursday night police raided two apartments in the complex. Middletown Police Lieutenant Pat Freeman says they came away with quantities of crack and cocaine and about 18 hundred dollars in cash. 28 year old Ted Williams was charged with felony drug possession. 3 women in a separate apartment were arrested on misdemeanor drug charges. Police say they were smoking crack when their apartment was raided.

Fatal Fall - Tracy Baxter @ 1:08 pm EST
Ulster County Sheriff's Deputies are investigating what appears to be an accidental death of a hiker who fell from a cliff near Trapps Road in the Town of Gardiner Thursday evening. The 69 year old male victim was found by two other hikers in an area known as the Gunks Climbing Area off Route 44/55. The name of the victim has not been released pending notification of relatives.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Fatal Crash - Tracy Baxter @ 11:53 am EST
A Newburgh man was killed Thursday morning when the car he was driving crashed head-on with a truck on Route 32 in the Town of Newburgh. Town Police say 79 year old Nicholas Piperato was dead at the scene. His car overturned after the collision near Sarvis Lane. The driver of the truck from United Rentals of Middletown...36 year old Juan Mendoza of Middletown...wasn't hurt. Police believe Piperato over-corrected after his car went off the right edge of the roadway.

Boil Water Advisory - Tracy Baxter @ 11:50 am EST
The flooding has increased the cloudiness in some community's water systems and that stirring up has led to precautionary boil water advisories. The Orange County Health Department says the advisories are in effect for residents in the city of Port Jervis, the town of New Windsor, the village of Cornwall-on-Hudson and Goshen Water District #2 Arcadia Hills. The increased turbidity means there is an increased chance that the water may contain disease-causing organisms. In New Windsor, the town has switched to its emergency water source, Brown's Pond, until further notice.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Flooding - Tracy Baxter @ 12:40 pm EST
While some parts of the region are trying to dry out, the flooding nightmare has gotten worse along the banks of the Wallkill River in the Town of Goshen. Rising water has covered black dirt farm fields and rescue workers had to get members of stranded families out of their homes along Celery Avenue Wednesday morning. Congressman John Hall will tour the flood damage in that area Thursday and the Red Cross will set up a Disaster Assistance Center Thursday in another hard-hit area....Washingtonville.

Burglary / Assault - Tracy Baxter @ 12:13 pm EST
Two Bloomingburg teens have been arrested for a burglary earlier this month where the homeowner was assaulted. It happened April 7th at a residence at Rivers Edge Trailer Park in Bloomingburg. State Police have charged 18 year old Dominick Pierre of Burlingham road and 17 year old Anthony Murgolo of Twin Lakes Trailer Park with felony counts of burglary, assault and criminal mischief. Police say the interior and exterior of the trailer was damaged. Murgolo was also charged with possession of a forged instrument. Police say at the time of his arrest, he was holding a counterfeit 20 dollar bill.

Shoplifting - Tracy Baxter @ 12:09 pm EST
There is shoplifting...and then there is shoplifting. State Police in Dutchess county have rounded up 5 young women who...they say....are responsible for the theft of about 20 thousand dollars worth of clothing over the past 6 months. Two clothing boutiques in Rhinebeck and one in Kingston was hit. 4 of the 5 girls worked at the boutiques in Rhinebeck and besides stealing for themselves, they allowed their friends and relatives too take clothing. Felony grand larceny charges were filed against 19 year old Tanya Quigley of Red Hook, 19 year old Kelly Demarco of Rhinebeck, 20 year old Whitney Jornov of Germantown, 20 year old Rachael Kelly of Red Hook and 21 year old Jessalyn Kilgour of Milan. About 11 thousand dollars worth of the stolen clothing has been recovered.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

More Charges - Tracy Baxter @ 11:41 am EST
Sometimes you can solve more than one crime with an arrest. That is apparently what happened in New Paltz where two men face more charges after they were arrested in the Town of Marlborough. 23 year old Walter Dolder of Milton and 18 year old Nathaniel Barriell of New Paltz were arrested last week in Marlborough for trying to steal a car wash auto-pay machine. Now, Barriell and Dolder have been charged with grand larceny and criminal mischief in New Paltz. Police say the pair was responsible for a similar crime there. They're charged with breaking into and stealing a 10 thousand dollar auto pay machine at a New Paltz car wash last month.

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Animal Death - Tracy Baxter @ 11:35 am EST
Last week's arrest of a Greenwood Lake woman for starving her dog to death has caught the attention of PETA...People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. 33 year old Mary Ann Adams is charged with starving her 9 year old Saint Bernard mix to death. The body of the dog was found in an outside pen, frozen, and weighing less than 30 pounds. In a letter to Orange County District Attorney Frank Phillips, PETA spokesman Dan Paden asked that if Adams is found guilty, that she be sentenced to jail time and that she be barred for life from owning animals.

Knife-point Robbery - Tracy Baxter @ 11:19 am EST
Town of Poughkeepsie police say he walked into the Sunoco-mart Wednesday night wearing a black ski mask. He then pulled a knife and demanded money from the cash register. After the clerk turned it over, the armed man then ran out of the Dutchess Turnpike store. The clerk wasn't hurt. Police are hoping someone in the area saw something that can help them make an arrest.

Settlements - Tracy Baxter @ 11:15 am EST
The State Attorney General's Office has reached settlements with two area car dealerships. Poughkeepsie Chevrolet must pay a 5 thousand dollar civil penalty for the use of fliers advertising a phony recall to lure customers to the dealership. Harriman Chevrolet was ordered to pay 10 thousand dollars in civil penalties for promoting a 4-day sale that offered deals and credit terms that did not exist.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

E-Z Pass - Tracy Baxter @ 1:51 pm EST
Work is underway to install highway-speed E-Z pass at one of the Thruway system's busiest toll plazas. The Thruway Authority says when the work is completed at Exit 16 at Woodbury in two years, drivers won't have to slow down at the toll barrier. The Harriman interchange is used by about 20 million vehicles a year. Thruway officials say allowing motorists with E-Z Pass tags to go through the exit at the highway speed of 65 miles an hour will relieve traffic backups and improve safety at the Woodbury toll booths.