November 2008

Copper Thieves - Tracy Baxter @ 10:58 am EST
Two Port Jervis men have been charged with stealing 100 pounds of copper wire from Orange and Rockland Utilities property Monday night. Port Jervis police say 50 year old Alva Conklin and 49 year old Eddie Forster stole the copper wire from fenced-in O&R property at King and Brown Streets. Police say the pair had hidden the stolen wire underneath a porch on King Street.

School Assault - Tracy Baxter @ 10:56 am EST
A Monticello High School student has been charged with felony assault after attacking another student in a school hallway Monday. 17 year old Quentin Branch of Monticello was arrested after repeatedly punching a 16 year old boy. The victim suffered facial fractures. Monticello police say the attack grew out of an argument over the theft of headphones from an I-Pod.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Criminal Shopping Spree - Tracy Baxter @ 12:17 pm EST
He was hired to do outdoor chores at a house in the Town of Saugerties but town police say the teenager stole thousands of dollars from the residence and then went on a shopping spree. According to police, 16 year old Justin Anderson of Binghamton was hired to work at the residence on Fred Short Road. He's accused of stealing more than 20 thousand dollars from an office in the house. He then took a cab back to Binghamton, reserved a hotel suite there and then proceeded to spend about 5 thousand dollars in a matter of hours. After arresting Anderson, police seized the items that were bought with the stolen money. They included jewelry, a stereo system, a flat-screen TV and an X-Box game system.

Wanted - Tracy Baxter @ 12:12 pm EST
City of Newburgh police have put out a wanted poster for a 17 year old who....they say...had a hand in a fatal stabbing earlier this month. Police are looking for David Delaine, who allegedly took part in what was described as a robbery gone bad. 31 year old Jason Black of Tillson was fatally stabbed in a Newburgh rooming house on Broadway November 7th. 16 year old Donnie Smith of Newburgh and a 15 year old have been arrested for their role in the incident.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Burglary Arrests - Tracy Baxter @ 12:01 pm EST
In Ulster County, 4 Ellenville men have been charged with a series of burglaries in the past month involving commercial buildings and a residence in the Towns of Rochester and Wawarsing. State Police say they cracked the case while investigating a break-in at the Hudson Valley Resort where equipment was stolen. A suspect was arrested and a connection was made to other burglaries where electronics, money, jewelry and an A-T-V were taken. The 4 Ellenville men charged with felony burglary are 23 year old Darryl Conklin, 21 year old Vincent Dagostino, his 19 year old brother Joseph and 30 year old Juan Rivera.

Bank Robber - Tracy Baxter @ 11:22 am EST
It is a State Police vehicle that is equipped with an automatic license plate reader and the patrol car read a plate on Route 17 that indicated the driver could be a wanted man. After pulling the vehicle over in the Town of Goshen, State Police charged Gerald Miller of Richmond Virginia with being a fugitive from justice. Miller was wanted in the state of Virginia for pulling an armed bank robbery in September.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Warehouse Burglars - Tracy Baxter @ 12:17 pm EST
Newburgh City Police got a call from a woman Tuesday night. She told them about a burglary in progress. Police say she knew this because the burglars were stealing boxes of clothing and electronics from Resnick's Warehouse and were putting the boxes in her yard. Officers that arrived at the South Lander Street warehouse found more packed boxes as well as six suspects inside the building, including two who were hiding in a closet. Two of the suspects are juveniles. The four others, all Newburgh residents, were charged with felony burglary.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Computer Sting - Tracy Baxter @ 12:56 pm EST
Investigators with Ulster County's Internet Crimes Unit say they've arrested a Long Island man for sending sexually explicit pictures and web-cam images of himself, to what he thought, was a 14 year old Ulster County girl. 29 year old William Baierlein of Hicksville was charged with 4 felony counts that involve the sending of indecent material to a minor. He was brought to Ulster County for arraignment. His arrest capped a 4-month undercover investigation.

Livestock Lost - Tracy Baxter @ 12:52 pm EST
Some livestock died in a fire that destroyed a barn in the Town of Montgomery early Wednesday morning. It broke out shortly after 2AM in a barn at the former Malcolm farm off South Searsville Road. 4 calves and 2 cows were lost as well as the hay that was being stored there. More than 40 firemen from 8 area departments were on the scene. Montgomery Second Assistant Chief Robert Pressler says a second alarm had to be called in, in order to bring more water tankers to the remote location. Investigators were sifting through what was left of the barn to try to figure out how the fire got started.

Juvenile Charged - Tracy Baxter @ 12:44 pm EST
A 14 year old girl has been charged with arson and burglary for allegedly starting a fire that destroyed an abandoned bungalow in the Town of Wawarsing. Investigators with the Ulster County Sheriff's Office say the girl, who is from Wawarsing, got into the bungalow and used a lighter to set the curtains on fire. Other juveniles tried to put it out but it flared up later and engulfed the building. Officers say the girl also admitted to starting a small fire in another bungalow building on the same property.

Murder Charges - Tracy Baxter @ 12:40 pm EST
A Newburgh woman has been charged with starting a fire in Queens that killed 4 people, including her boyfriend. Agnes Bermudez of Newburgh has been hospitalized since the fire last June. She was arraigned at bedside on 4 counts of second degree murder as well as arson and reckless endangerment. The Queens District Attorney's Office says Bermudez used a flammable liquid to set fire to her boyfriend, William Salazar. The fire then spread throughout the three-story building, killing 3 others.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Hunter - Fatal Shooting - Tracy Baxter @ 8:45 am EST
A hunter has been charged with manslaughter for firing a shot that killed a 16 month old child Sunday in Swan Lake. State Police arrested 45 year old Edward Taibi of Howard Beach New York after he allegedly fired a shot from his rifle that hit the little girl in the upper body. She was pronounced dead after being airlifted to Westchester Medical Center. Police say Taibi was hunting on property off Horseshoe Lake Road. He initially fired a shot that hit a deer. He fired a second shot that hit the child about 400 feet from a residence.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Stolen Mail - Tracy Baxter @ 1:33 pm EST
A newspaper delivery carrier in Sullivan county and an alleged accomplise have been arrested for stealing mail along the delivery route and then forging and cashing personal checks that were in the stolen mail. 38 year old Steven Ulatoski and 31 year old Terilyn Steigler-Weigand, both of Woodbourne, have been charged with grand larceny, possession of a forged instrument and falsifying business records. State Police say the thefts occurred along Ulatoski's newspaper delivery route in the Wolf Lake - Wurtsboro area. Investigators say the mail had been put in the mailboxes by residents during evening hours for pick-up in the morning. The total amount of the stolen, forged and cashed checks was more than 3 thousand dollars.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

House Explodes - Tracy Baxter @ 1:15 pm EST
A propane gas leak was apparently the cause of an explosion and fire that destroyed a house in the Town of Chester early Wednesday morning. Fire personnel were able to rescue the lone occupant of the house at number 82 Goosepond Mountain Road. 75 year old Mary Pat Lipsey was discovered inside the house that had "pancaked". She was airlifted to Westchester Medical Center for treatment of undisclosed injuries. Chester fire officials say the blast was so intense that it lifted the house at least 4 feet off its foundation.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Rape Charges - Tracy Baxter @ 11:08 am EST
Two City of Newburgh men have been charged with the rape of a female SUNY New Paltz college student. New Paltz police say it happened last month when the woman met the suspects at a New Paltz bar and then accepted a ride home from them. Police say the sexual assault occurred off campus. 19 year old Renzo Ortiz-Farino and 22 year old Armando Villarreal were charged with criminal sexual act in the first degree. Police believe a third suspect was involved and they expect to make the additional arrest.

Dogs Seized - Tracy Baxter @ 10:48 am EST
The van was in the parking lot of a motel in Saugerties and people in the area called to complain about strong smells of urine and feces coming from the vehicle. Inside, investigators with the Ulster County S-P-C-A discovered 11 dogs in overcrowded cages and in deplorable conditions. The dogs were seized and Cameron Lickey of Indiana was charged with 11 violations including failure to provide proper food and water. She was sent to Ulster County Jail and will appear in Town of Saugerties court.

Bogus Certificate - Tracy Baxter @ 10:45 am EST
A Dutchess County contractor has been arrested for allegedly passing a fraudulent workers compensation certificate of insurance, leaving a Hudson Valley construction company holding the bill for more than 4 thousand dollars in extra premium payments. The contractor, Kurt Grove of Hopewell Junction, faces charges of possession of a forged instrument and insurance fraud. Investigators say Grove submitted a forged certificate in order to get work as a sub-contractor for Mid-Hudson Construction Management.

Friday, November 07, 2008

Stolen Tickets - Tracy Baxter @ 1:20 pm EST
Ulster County Sheriff's deputies say it was a scheme that ultimately backfired. They say the residents of an apartment on Connelly Road in the Town of Esopus, 24 year olds Melissa Primo and Joseph Dart, invited their neighbor to their apartment. After he came over, Dart allegedly left the apartment and went to the unoccupied neighbor's apartment and stole winning lottery tickets, then cashed them at a local store. Both Dart and Primo were charged with felony burglary.

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Reckless Endangerment - Tracy Baxter @ 12:56 pm EST
Police agencies in Ulster county were dealing with a different kind of excitement on election night. It began after a pick-up truck hit several mailboxes and utility poles along Route 208 in the hamlet of Wallkill. Minutes later, a county sheriff's deputy spotted the truck driving at highway speeds with a front tire riding on the rim and sparks flying. When officers finally pulled the vehicle over, they say 45 year old James Kalfas locked himself in and began drinking a beer. When a deputy tried to get him out, a fight began, injuring both the deputy and Kalfas. Among the charges filed....reckless endangerment, felony assault, resisting arrest and driving while intoxicated.

Full Accreditation - Tracy Baxter @ 12:48 pm EST
Officials at Catskill Regional Medical Center say it's another sign that the hospital is moving in the right direction. Catskill Regional has earned full accreditation from the Joint Commission following a review of health care policies and procedures. The accreditation comes following a report that Catskill Regional's mortality rates ranked lower than the national average and are in the top three for all hospitals in the region. The hospital has been working to bounce back from past financial deficits and questions about the quality of health care.

Too Close To Call - Tracy Baxter @ 12:41 pm EST
People in Port Jervis will have to wait awhile before they'll know who won their city judge race. When the election day votes were counted, Democrat Matthew Witherow was 11 votes ahead of Republican Victoria Campbell but more than 200 absentee and affadavit ballots must still be counted. That will be done November 12th at the Orange County Board of Elections office in Goshen.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Break-In Arrests - Tracy Baxter @ 12:50 pm EST
Town of Saugerties police have arrested three Orange County teenagers for breaking into vehicles in town and the thefts there could be just the tip of the iceberg. Police say 18 year old Steven Torres of Middletown and 17 year old brothers Kevin and Marc Lauritzen of Montgomery have been charged with possession of stolen property and conspiracy. Police say they confessed to stealing G-P-S navigational units, I-Pods, radar detectors and money from parked cars in Saugerties. Town police got about 40 complaints from residents who said their vehicles had been broken into. Police believe the teens may be responsible for other car break-ins over the past few months in Orange, Dutchess and Ulster counties.

Rock Hill Arrests - Tracy Baxter @ 12:45 pm EST
Last Sunday night two men wearing ski masks and carrying a gun robbed a Rock Hill gas station of about 19 hundred dollars. Minutes later, deputies with the Sullivan County Sheriff's Department found the masks on Wolf Lake Road and they were able to develop more leads after looking at the video from the security system at the Billy Stop gas station. Deputies have since charged 20 year old Joshua Quick of Rock Hill and 35 year old Raymond Rodriquez of Monticello with first degree robbery and first degree criminal use of a firearm. Deputies were able to recover the getaway vehicle, a realistic-looking BB gun and some of the stolen money.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Tentative Agreement - Tracy Baxter @ 11:31 am EST
A tentative contract agreement has been reached between Sullivan County and the union that represents 680 county employees. The 5-year contract for members of Teamsters Local 445 includes 14 and a half percent salary increases over the five year period and a preservation of health care benefits. Legislative Minority Leader Leni Binder called it an extremely generous contract given Sullivan County's current economic situation. The contract must still be ratified by union rank and file.

Monday, November 03, 2008

Rock Hill Robbery - Tracy Baxter @ 1:50 pm EST
Officers with the State Police and the Sullivan County Sheriff's Department are looking for the two men who robbed a gas station at gunpoint late Sunday night. The men were wearing ski masks when they walked into the Billy Stop gas station in Rock Hill shortly before 11pm. They took an undisclosed amount of cash and took off towards Wolf Lake Road.

Fugitive - Tracy Baxter @ 1:46 pm EST
He walked into the Monticello police station Saturday afternoon, saying he was hungry, couldn't find a job and wanted to go home. 41 year old Frank Rosa is from North Platte Nebraska and a computer check confirmed that he was wanted in Nebraska as a fugitive from justice for violating sex offender registration laws. Rosa was awaiting extradition back to his home state.

Squatting - Tracy Baxter @ 1:39 pm EST
Police in Monticello say not only did Elizabeth Smith burglarize and damage a seasonal residence on Mill street in the village....she and another person were also living there. The caretaker discovered the break-in and police found identification cards belonging to Smith. They say the Monticello woman had been squatting in the residence and had damaged walls and furniture. She was charged with felony burglary and criminal mischief.