May 2008

Conspiracy - Tracy Baxter @ 2:33 pm EST
An employee at a gas station in Loch Sheldrake is under arrest for trying to recruit someone to blow up another gas station in town. Town of Fallsburg police charged 34 year old Manhar Patel of Loch Sheldrake with felony conspiracy. Police say Patel's family owns a gas station in Loch Sheldrake and that he agreed to pay another person 650 dollars in cash to blow up the Loch Sheldrake Mobil Station. Fallsburg police were tipped off and Patel was arrested. He was being held pending a town court appearance Wednesday. Police say they expect to add more charges.

Chiropractor Arrested - Tracy Baxter @ 2:28 pm EST
An area chiropractor is facing a criminal charge involving alleged inappropriate contact with a female patient. Dr. Christopher King, an employee at Dolson Avenue Medical in Middletown, has been charged with forcible touching while performing a chiropractic adjustment on the patient. According to Middletown city police, Dr. King fondled the patient's breast after he made inappropriate conversation about the victim's breasts. King was arraigned and released on 500 dollars bail pending a future court appearance.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Port Criminal Mischief - Tracy Baxter @ 12:34 pm EST
Police in Port Jervis are hoping someone saw something that can help them find the person...or persons...responsible for acts of vandalism to vehicles early Sunday morning. Police say 13 cars and trucks had windows smashed and other damage done sometime between 3 and 4AM Sunday. The vehicles targeted were in the city's West End. Anyone with information is asked to call the Port Jervis Police Detective Division at 858-4003.

Attempted Murder - Tracy Baxter @ 12:31 pm EST
A Town of Newburgh man has been charged with attempted murder following a confrontation with town police officers Sunday night. Police came to the Frozen Ridge Road residence following a report of a violent domestic incident. Police say when they arrived, 33 year old John Richichi began to fight with officers and commanded his dog to attack. Richichi was eventually overpowered and charged with attempted murder as well as assault on a police officer, reckless endangerment and resisting arrest. Officer Henry Lawson was admitted to St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries. The dog was turned over to the Town of Newburgh Animal Control Department.

Drive-by Shootings - Tracy Baxter @ 12:27 pm EST
Police in the Towns of Wallkill and Mount Hope are reportedly looking for two gunman in connection with a pair of drive-by shootings that happened within 15 minutes of each other Saturday night. One adult and 4 children were home at 105 Rolling Meadows road in the Town of Wallkill when several shots were fired at the residence. 4 of them hit the house. A drive-by shooting minutes later was reported at a residence at 1637 Route 211 West. Up to 5 rounds were fired at the house where 3 adults and 3 children were inside. Police believe the incidents are related. There were no injuries reported at either location.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Pizza Robbery - Tracy Baxter @ 10:34 am EST
Apparently some people will do just about anything when they're hungry. A Domino's pizza deliveryman found that out in the city of Middletown Tuesday night. He told police that while he was about to make a delivery on Lake Avenue, 3 men approached him and one of them hit him repeatedly with a wooden baseball bat. The suspects didn't take any money but they did take the food that included 3 large pizzas. The victim did not need to go to the hospital.

Guard Charged - Tracy Baxter @ 10:30 am EST
It wasn't a routine drug operation for members of URGENT...the Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team. 4 people were arrested this week following a 7-month investigation into cocaine sales in Northern Ulster County. One of those arrested....26 year old Dominic Noonan of Kingston...was in possession of a hand grenade that had to be safely removed from his Second Avenue residence. Another suspect...47 year old John Fredericks of Kingston...was charged with Official Misconduct and Bribe Receiving. Police say he used his clearance as a security guard at Ulster Community College to get motor vehicle information on unmarked police cars. He then exchanged that information to get drugs.

Port Jervis Robbery - Tracy Baxter @ 10:25 am EST
It didn't take Port Jervis police long to arrest a robbery suspect Tuesday evening. 22 year old Brandon Fink of Sparrowbush was picked up about 15 minutes after the Handy Stop Store on Jersey Avenue was robbed at knifepoint. Police say Fink had run off with about 200 dollars. The knife was recovered at the time of the arrest and the money was found in a wooded area near Riverside Park.

Friday, May 09, 2008

Stolen Identity - Tracy Baxter @ 12:26 pm EST
She was assigned to help the elderly woman but police in Dutchess county say what she did was steal her credit card and assume her identity. 20 year old LaToya Thrasher of Poughkeepsie has been charged with the felonies of identity theft and forgery. Investigators say while working as a certified nurses assistant she stole the debit/credit card from the woman who lives at The Fountains Of Millbrook Retirement Community. She then ran up about a thousand dollars worth of charges at stores in the Poughkeepsie and Newburgh areas. Police say Thrasher was identified through store surveillance video.

Second Arrest - Tracy Baxter @ 11:47 am EST
Newburgh city police have made a second arrest for the drive-by shooting of a city teen this week. Thursday night, 21 year old Daniel Correa of Concord Street in Newburgh was charged with second degree murder. Police say he was the man who fired the shot that killed 15 year old Jeffrey Zachary as he stood on Dubois Street Tuesday night. 16 year old Joshua Torres of Beacon was picked up earlier on a murder charge. He was identified as the driver of the car. Police say both the gun and the car were found where the suspects abandoned them....in the parking lot of Bourne Apartments in Newburgh.

Crime Alert - Tracy Baxter @ 11:22 am EST
It is no longer just the things inside your car that thieves want...and it's something you need to watch out for. Town of Newburgh police say they're investigating the theft of catalytic converters from the exhaust systems of cars and trucks. They contain platinum and a saw is used to remove them from the bottom of vehicles. Thieves can get 50 dollars for them. They cost about 500 dollars to replace. Town police say the most recent thefts occurred at several car dealerships though other incidents have been reported at shopping centers and long-term parking lots.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Drive-by Shooting Arrest - Tracy Baxter @ 12:53 pm EST
An arrest has been made for the fatal drive-by shooting in the city of Newburgh Tuesday night. 16 year old Joshua Torres of Beacon was arraigned Thursday morning on a second degree murder charge. He's accused of firing the shot that struck and killed 15 year old Jeffrey Zachary as he was standing with friends outside 27 Dubois Street. Reports are Torres was driving the car and fired two shots. Zachary's 19 year old brother Trent died in a drive-by shooting incident three years ago.

Monday, May 05, 2008

Zimet Out - Tracy Baxter @ 12:48 pm EST
Less than two weeks after getting in, Susan Zimet is getting out. The county legislator from New Paltz has decided to abandon her bid to become the first Ulster County Executive. Zimet reportedly told Democratic party leaders that her heart wasn't in the race. Her departure leaves three candidates....Democrat Ulster County Administrator Michael Hein, Republican businessman Len Bernardo and Independent Allan Wikman.

Monticello Shooting - Tracy Baxter @ 12:44 pm EST
In Monticello the search is on for the gunman who wounded a man Sunday night. Police say the 22 year old victim staggered into the Stewart's Convenience Store on Forestburgh Road. He had been shot in the back and was airlifted to Westchester Medical Center where he is in stable condition with injuries that include a collapsed lung. About 45 minutes before the incident, Monticello police got a call of "shots fired" on Franklin Avenue. They're investigating to see if there's any connection.

Friday, May 02, 2008

Stolen Cigarettes - Tracy Baxter @ 1:46 pm EST
He may have wanted to get into the cigarette-selling business...illegally. 36 year old James Gallardo of Walden has been charged with grand larceny for stealing more than 190 cartons of cigarettes from the business where he worked. State Police investigators say Gallardo took the cigarettes early Thursday morning from C&S Wholesale Grocers in the Town of Newburgh, where he was employed. The cigarettes have an estimated value of almost 6 thousand dollars.

More Remains - Tracy Baxter @ 1:43 pm EST
An archeological firm has found more human remains at the courthouse construction site in the City of Newburgh. The city was notified that the remains of 3 more people were discovered at the old Broadway School which is the location of the city's old black cemetery. A total of 6 sets of remains have been found since the excavation began. A community advisory group will recommend how best to commemorate those who were buried there but were not relocated. Interior work for the courthouse project has continued during the excavation.

10 Year Sentence - Tracy Baxter @ 1:40 pm EST
The Town of Deerpark woman who admitted to causing the death of her newborn baby girl was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday in Orange County Court. 39 year old Christine Maher of Huguenot pleaded guilty to a first degree manslaughter charge in March. Her newborn daughter's badly decomposed body was discovered last fall in an old box truck located behind her rented home on Echo Valley Road. Maher could have gotten a prison sentence of from 25 years to life if she'd been convicted of murder at trial. Maher will undergo psychiatric counseling while serving the prison time.