June 2006

Rape Arrest - Tracy Baxter @ 1:32 pm EST
A man who State Police say is listed as a registered Level 3 sex offender has been arrested for another sex crime. 48 year old David Rhodes of Ellenville was charged with first degree rape and first degree burglary. Investigators say Rhodes broke into a home in the village of Ellenville and raped a 20 year old woman. He's currently being held without bail in Ulster County Jail.

Camp Agudah Fire - Tracy Baxter @ 1:29 pm EST
A fire early Thursday morning destroyed a three and a half story building at Camp Agudah located off Upper Ferndale Road near Liberty. The building served as the camp kitchen and the residence for some workers. 5 people were reportedly trapped on the roof. 4 were rescued but one person jumped. He was sent to Westchester Medical Center for treatment of injuries that were not considered life-threatoning. Investigators don't believe the fire is suspicious.

Leonard Sentenced - Tracy Baxter @ 1:25 pm EST
Josephus Leonard said he was sorry for shooting and killing his step-son back in February at their home in Summitville. Leonard was sentenced Thursday in Sullivan County Court to 20 years to life in prison. He'd pleaded guilty last month to killing his step-son...33 year old Robbie Washington. Police said the shooting grew out of an argument between the two.

14 Years - Tracy Baxter @ 1:21 pm EST
In Sullivan county, a Port Jervis man was sentenced to 14 years in prison Thursday for his role in a violent house break-in and high speed chase in March. 22 year old Kenneth Alger pleaded guilty to burglary and assault charges last month. He and Daniel Hernandez of Goshen broke into a Livingston Manor home .....beat up a 21 year old resident...then loaded their car with stolen property. They crashed the car in Ellenville after leading police on a high speed chase. Hernandez will be sentenced Friday.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Dealer Indicted - Tracy Baxter @ 3:39 pm EST
An Orange County auto dealer was indicted Wednesday on charges he filed false documents with the Department of Motor Vehicles. 48 year old James Turner of Newburgh....the owner of Donation Vehicle Program Incorporated of Newburgh and Walden...is facing 19 felony counts of falsifying business records and offering a false instrument for filing. The Attorney General's Office said Turner received improper titles for 19 vehicles that had been previously salvaged or abandoned. Turner's sons Rudy and James Jr. pleaded guilty last year to crimes involving falsely reporting stolen vehicles.

Court Hearing - Tracy Baxter @ 3:26 pm EST
The former Poughkeepsie middle school teacher who killed and cannibalized a teenage boy 27 years old is still a threat to society and should not be released from the Mid-Hudson Psychiatric Center in New Hampton. That was the word from two psychiatrists who testified Wednesday against the release of Albert Fentress, who was convicted of sexually mutiliating and killing Paul Masters in 1979 in his Poughkeepsie home. Under state law Fentress can petition the courts every two years to try to win release.

End of Session - Tracy Baxter @ 3:23 pm EST
Members of the State Senate and Assembly played "Let's Make A Deal" Tuesday night and as a result, some new legislation has been agreed on before the end of session later this week. Among the bills that legislative leaders have signed off on....creating the job of Medicaid Inspector General...in an attempt to reduce fraud and waste. There will be an expansion of the state's DNA database and an end to the statute of limitations on certain sex crimes including rape.....and a bill that allows stores to sell beer beginning at 8AM on Sundays. That was one of the last remnants of the state's old blue laws.

Bucky Alerts - Tracy Baxter @ 3:19 pm EST
"Bucky Alerts" now are greeting drivers on dozens of electronic message boards across the state. The alerts refer to 44 year old Ralph "Bucky" Phillips, the man suspected of shooting a state trooper near Elmira earlier this month. In an effort to catch the escaped convict, investigators activated the network of travel advisory signs on interstate highways and the Thruway. The messages give a description of a stolen minivan Phillips may be driving. A maroon 2002 Dodge Caravan was reported stolen from a home in Hancock. Phillips...who escaped from an Erie County jail in April...is suspected of shooting a trooper on June 10th. The trooper was hospitalized for a few days after the shooting.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Change of Venue - Tracy Baxter @ 11:48 am EST
A high-powered Albany-area murder case is coming to Orange County Court. A change of venue has been ordered that'll move the trial of Christopher Porco. He's accused of killing his father...State Supreme Court Law Clerk Peter Porco...with an axe in November of 2004. His mother Jane was seriously injured in the attack. Police say Christopher Porco had fought with his father over money. An appeals court ruled the trial should be moved to Goshen because publicity surrounding the case was intensive and prejudical in the Albany area.

Car Arson - Tracy Baxter @ 11:44 am EST
Middletown City Police have an arson case to investigate. Police say shortly after 1am Thursday morning, someone tossed a molotov cocktail into a parked car on Genung Street near Academy Avenue. The lit bottle containing gasoline exploded...destroying the 1992 Toyota Camry. No one was in the car. Orange County's arson task force was called in...to aid in the investigation.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Murder Arrest - Tracy Baxter @ 12:38 pm EST
City of Poughkeepsie police have charged a 19 year old from the Town of Poughkeepsie with second degree murder for a fatal stabbing Monday night. Police say 20 year old Sherwood Thomas was found lying in the street in the area of Bement Avenue and Harrison Street. He had died of a stab wound. Eight hours later, police arrested 19 year old Luis Rosado and charged him with the murder. Poughkeepsie Police Detective Lieutenant William Siegrist said its believed the fatal stabbing was the result of an earlier confrontation between the two. Rosado was being held pending arraignment.

20 Year Sentence - Tracy Baxter @ 11:55 am EST
A former Boy Scout leader from Queens was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Sullivan County Court Tuesday for sexually abusing two 13 year old members of his troop. 45 year old Ronald Occipinti had admitted to abusing the boys over a three year period at locations in Queens and at Ten Mile River Boy Scout camp near Narrowsburg. He will serve the 20 year Sullivan county sentence concurrently with the 20 year sentence he received Monday in Queens. Occipinti had been a scoutmaster for 15 years. Police said he sometimes videotaped and photographed his sexual contact with the boys.

Property Taxes - Tracy Baxter @ 11:05 am EST
State legislative leaders say property taxpayers across the state could get almost one billion dollars in rebates from the state this fall. The plan agreed to by the leaders of the Republican-led Senate and Democratic-controlled Assembly creates a personal income tax credit based on property taxes paid. Officials estimate the refund checks would total 960 million dollars. The move is an attempt to get around Republican George Pataki's earlier blocking of a property tax rebate plan that would have seen checks going out right before this fall's legislative elections. An April report by Comptroller Alan Hevesi's office found that local property taxes in the state rose 42 percent from 2000 to 2005, more than three times the rate of inflation.

Friday, June 09, 2006

Grand Larceny Charges - Tracy Baxter @ 1:42 pm EST
The owner of a construction company in Sullivan County has been charged with felony grand larceny. State Police arrested 45 year old Kenneth Saunders of Forestburgh....the owner/operator of U-S Builders Construction Company. Investigators say he took money from a customer and used the money to pay for other construction projects. The amount involved was about 13 thousand dollars. Saunders is due to answer the grand larceny charges in court June 14th.

Driver Dies - Tracy Baxter @ 1:39 pm EST
A Town of Newburgh man....who was seriously injured in a car crash last month...has died of his injuries. 76 year old Ralph West had been transferred to Westchester Medical Center shortly after the May 30th crash in the Town of Newburgh. Town Police say West's car was hit as he was turning onto Stewart Avenue from Route 17K. Police say the speed of the oncoming car was a factor and that charges may be filed.

New Commader - Tracy Baxter @ 1:24 pm EST
There is now a new man in charge at West Point. Lieutant General Franklin Hagenbeck officially took over command of the U-S Military Academy Friday. General Hagenbeck's military background includes command of troops that fought against the Taliban in Afghanistan. The man he replaced....William Lennox...says Hagenbeck's past experience makes him the right man for the job of training new leaders.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Disturbance - Tracy Baxter @ 1:54 pm EST
Today (Thursday) was the last day of classes at Middletown High School...and it ended with some unwanted excitement. A student was arrested following a huge food fight that erupted in the cafeteria. Middletown Police Lieutenant Paul Rickard said it started when a student opened a box that contained live crickets. That led to the food fight and after it was brought under control, 16 year old Christopher Laskaris of Middletown was charged with inciting a riot. Police Officers remained in the high school in an attempt to head off any more trouble.

Leaving The Scene - Tracy Baxter @ 1:50 pm EST
An Ulster County grand jury has handed up an indictment against the man accused of leaving the scene of a fatal traffic accident back in April. 40 year old Joseph Gilsinger of Mount Tremper was indicted on the felony charge of leaving the scene. He was arrested two days after....police say...his car struck and killed Richard Shultis. Shultis was riding a bicycle and towing another bike on Route 28 in the Town of Ulster. The District Attorney's office says evidence collected from Gilsinger's car linked him to the fatal collision.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Robber Caught - Tracy Baxter @ 2:17 pm EST
Last month a man robbed the Catskill Country Store in Woodstock...and he was dressed like a woman and wore a blonde wig. Tuesday, the DB Mart on Leggs Mill Road in the Town of Ulster was robbed...also by a man dressed as a woman. State Police say it was the same man...who they now have in custody. 30 year old Brian Johnson of Palenville was charged with first degree robbery and ordered held on 50 thousand dollars bail. Investigators say Johnson got cash from both stores, with some of the money recovered. Police say he pulled a gun in the Woodstock robbery and threatoned to use a gun during Tuesday's heist.

Clerk Sentenced - Tracy Baxter @ 2:13 pm EST
A former town official in Ulster County has been sentenced for falsifying business records...in connection with some missing town funds. Former Rochester Deputy Town Clerk Annette Rose of Accord was sentenced Wednesday to 5 years probation, 100 hours of community service and fined 11 hundred dollars. Rose was arrested after an audit uncovered missing town money. A jury determined that Rose altered town records to cover up the missing funds. A subsequent report from the Ulster County Grand Jury pointed up inadequate record-keeping and internal control weaknesses within the Rochester Town Clerk's office.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Crash Investigation - Tracy Baxter @ 1:39 pm EST
Funeral Services are being held this week for the three Port Jervis High School seniors who died when their car crashed...head-on...into a tractor-trailer rig on Interstate 84 near Port Jervis last Friday. Three funerals are being held in three days for Kathleen Decker, Sara Abramowitz and Stephanie Conklin. The fourth teen in the car...17 year old Sean Donnelly...is in fair condition at Westchester Medical Center. State Police say their investigation into why their car veered across the median remains open. Captain Martin Hanson told Cable 6 News Tuesday that indications are all 4 were wearing seat belts...there was no drug or alcohol involvement.. no indication of mechanical problems with their car and no indication that their car had been hit and forced across the median. Captain Hanson said investigators are planning to interview a motorist from Maryland who had stopped at the scene. They say he may be able to shed some light on what happened.

Weld Out - Tracy Baxter @ 1:19 pm EST
Bill Weld is out of the race for governor in New York state. Weld made the official announcement earlier today. He said this is not the time for a contested Republican party primary. Weld's departure from the race comes after some of the state's top Republicans urged him to drop out for the sake of party unity. Last week, Weld was defeated at the Republican convention by the more conservative John Faso, the former state Assembly minority leader.

Drowning - Tracy Baxter @ 1:16 pm EST
In the Town of Newburgh, an employee of a landscaping company drowned Monday afternoon after the rider mower he was on, overturned, pinning him underwater in a pond. Police say 25 year old Jorge Trinidad of Newburgh was cutting grass near the pond at the entrance to the Northeast Business Center off Route 17K. When the mower overturned on a slope, Trinidad got pinned underneath, trapping him below two feet of water. Rescue workers were unable to revive him. Police believe Trinidad had been underwater for about a half hour before he was discovered.

Child Abuse Arrest - Tracy Baxter @ 1:13 pm EST
In Sullivan County, a Loch Sheldrake man has been arrested on a felony assault charge after...police say...he injured his two-week old son. 21 year old Jon Shaver is accused of hitting the infant in the face with his hand, causing head and facial injuries. The baby was being treated at Catskill Regional Medical Center. Shaver is being held without bail in Sullivan County Jail and Town of Fallsburg police say more charges are expected to be filed.

I-D Thefts - Tracy Baxter @ 1:10 pm EST
Police in Highland Falls say a church gave her money to buy food....and she repaid the kindness by stealing from them. 44 year old Meryl Ann Laurenzano of Highland Falls has been charged with petty larceny and unlawful possession of personal identification information. Police say Laurenzano got a charity check of 60 dollars from the Church of God of Prophecy. But police say she then used the checking account number printed on the check to pay personal phone and utility bills by telephone. Laurenzano is due in local court Wednesday.

Monday, June 05, 2006

Drownings - Tracy Baxter @ 12:16 pm EST
There was tragedy in the water as well over the past weekend. On Saturday a fisherman drowned at Junction Pool in Roscoe. Police say 44 year old Justin Everett of New Jersey was wading across the river and fell....with the current pulling him under. And a Newburgh man died Sunday night when his fishing boat capsized on Brown's Pond in the Town of New Windsor. 46 year old Brian Gaskins was located about an hour later and was pronounced dead at St. Luke's hospital.

Thruway Crash - Tracy Baxter @ 12:12 pm EST
A section of the Thruway near Saugerties was closed last night after a car went across the center divider and hit a truck....killing a passenger in the car. 29 year old Vijay Sharma of Iselin New Jersey was killed when the car swerved off the southbound lanes and hit a truck towing an empty horse trailer that was heading north. The Thruway's two northbound lanes were closed for more than two hours.

Grieving School - Tracy Baxter @ 12:10 pm EST
Grief Counselors were at Port Jervis High School Monday as students and faculty attempted to cope with the loss of three seniors who died in a car crash last Friday on Interstate 84. Sara Abramowitz, Stephanie Conklin and Kathleen Decker were set to graduate later this month. A prayer service was held for the community Sunday night and a makeshift memorial was set up outside the high school for fellow students. State Police continue to investigate the cause of the crash. The victim's car had veered across the median and hit an oncoming tractor-trailer rig. A fourth student...Sean Donnelly...remains in critical condition.

Friday, June 02, 2006

Criminal Mischief - Tracy Baxter @ 2:32 pm EST
Town of Poughkeepsie police say three Poughkeepsie teens were trying to disrupt the normal school day on Wednesday and their actions have led to felony charges. Early Wednesday morning a custodial worker at Spackenkill High School tried unsuccessfully to open the doors to the high school. It turned out that super glue had been poured into the door locks. 3 high school students ....16 year old Kelly Schatz, 19 year old Corey Haun, and 17 year old Anthony Giammatteo...were charged with felony criminal mischief. More than 15 hundred dollars worth of damage was done.

Plane Crash - Tracy Baxter @ 1:03 pm EST
A single engine plane crashed Friday morning on its approach to the Orange County Airport in the Town of Hamptonburgh. The wreckage was located early this afternoon about 3 and a half miles southeast of the airport near Campbell Hall. Officials at the scene said there did not appear to be any survivors. There was no immediate confirmation that the plane's registered owner...Thomas Dayon of West Milford New Jersey...was piloting the plane or if there was a passenger aboard. The plane was en route to the airport for maintenance from Greenwood Lake. The pilot had notified an air traffic controller that he was in view of the airport and was switching from instruments to visual flight rules.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Doctor Walkout - Tracy Baxter @ 1:07 pm EST
A group of 62 doctors at an area hospital stopped practicing at midnight Wednesday, accusing the medical center of breaches in safety and patient care. Doctor Hal Teitelbaum says he and the other doctors at Crystal Run HealthCare submitted their resignations at of 12:01 Thursday morning. The group says that Catskill Regional Medical Center in Harris has refused to follow physician directives for diagnostic care and medications. They also allege the hospital has discharged emergency room patients before they were stabilized, used obsolete equipment and followed inadequate anesthesia practices. Hospital Chief Executive Arthur Brien says the allegations aren't true and that the dispute stems from Teitelbaum's failed attempt to take over hospital management. He says the issue is all about money and power. The State Health Department says it received 20 complaints about the hospital over a four-week period in April and May. The department is conducting an investigation.

Republican Primary - Tracy Baxter @ 1:02 pm EST
New York State Republicans will send gubernatorial candidates William Weld and John Faso to a primary. The decision was made Thursday at the party's state convention on Long Island. Faso received more than 50 percent of the weighted vote to become the party designee but opponent Weld landed enough support to earn a spot on the ballot. Republican leaders had hoped to avoid a primary ...worrying that it could hamper and divide fundraising in the race against Democratic front-runner and designee Eliot Spitzer. Weld and Faso have refused to take the Lieutenant Governor spot on a ticket.