September 2006

D-W-I Crash - Tracy Baxter @ 2:58 pm EST
Middletown police say it was bad enough that Brandon Clark was driving drunk Thursday night in the city...but he crashed his car into an unmarked City of Middletown police car. The collision occurred at the intersection of Academy Avenue and Washington Street. The police officer in the car...Detective Jeff Madden...was not seriously hurt. Clark, a 34 year old Newburgh resident, is facing charges of D-W-I, driving while ability impaired by drugs and driving with a suspended registration.

Sexual Abuse Charge - Tracy Baxter @ 11:41 am EST
A former staff member at an A-R-C facility in Sullivan county has been arrested for sexually abusing a female client there. Monticello police have charged 50 year old James Evans of South Fallsburg with felony sexual abuse. According to police, Evans abused a 19 year old female, wheelchair-bound client at the A-R-C residence on Pleasantview Avenue in Monticello. The alleged abuse occurred back in June.

Animal Cruelty - Tracy Baxter @ 11:38 am EST
Ulster County Sheriff's deputies have arrested an Accord man on a felony cruelty to animals charge after...officers say...he broke the neck of a cat belonging to the woman he was arguing with. 48 year old Raymond Oreily reportedly killed the cat following an argument at his Mettacahonts Road home. Oreily was being held for a court appearance next Tuesday.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Criminal MIschief Arrests - Tracy Baxter @ 12:30 pm EST
Ulster County Sheriff's deputies say they used B-B guns to shoot out store windows and car windows last weekend and the weekend before...and now...the 3 Kerhonkson teens face felony criminal mischief and reckless endangerment charges. The shooting spree included store-front windows in the Towns of Gardiner, Rochester, Wawarsing and New Paltz. Windows in moving and parked vehicles were also targeted. The names of the teens...ages 16 and 17...were not released because they may be treated as youthful offenders.

Wallkill Town Budget - Tracy Baxter @ 12:26 pm EST
Wallkill Town Supervisor John Ward wants to see a Business Improvement District formed along the town's Route 211 retail corridor. If the businesses go along, they would cover the cost of 963 thousand dollars which would allow for the hiring of 8 or 9 police officers to specifically cover that section of town. The B-I-D proposal is part of Ward's proposed 2007 town budget that includes a 16 cents per thousand tax decrease. It would be the 5th year in a row the town tax rate would drop.

A-T-V Fatal - Tracy Baxter @ 12:23 pm EST
A collision involving a van and an all-terrain-vehicle took the life of a Middletown man Wednesday night. State Police say 29 year old Christopher Thorpe was killed when his A-T-V hit the van, head-on, as he was trying to cross Route 6 at Ridgebury Hill Road in the Town of Wawayanda. The driver of the van was taken to Orange Regional Medical Center for treatment of chest pain.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

School Meeting - Tracy Baxter @ 12:31 pm EST
A Hudson Valley gay organization believes they've made headway in efforts to combat anti-gay behavior and violence in the Kingston school district. Members of the Lesbian-Gay Community Center met with Superintendent Gerard Gretzinger to talk about their concerns that gay students are being victimized. Center president Ginnie Apuzzo says they'll be able to meet with those who develop curriculums and have input on school policies that could help fight gay-bashing.

Bank Robbery Arrest - Tracy Baxter @ 12:29 pm EST
Police agencies in Dutchess county say Shawn Wells is the man responsible for three bank robberies in the county this past summer. The 36 year old Fishkill man was arrested in North Carolina and brought back to the county where he'll face robbery charges for three bank heists in Fishkill, Wappingers Falls and the Town of Poughkeepsie. The robberies occurred in July and August. A weapon was not shown in any of the incidents. Wells will be in town court friday for a preliminary hearing.

Fugitive Caught - Tracy Baxter @ 12:25 pm EST
Persistence paid off for Liberty Village police officers Tuesday. Because of recent burglaries, their suspicions were aroused when a man was spotted peering into the window of a house. The man had no I-D and gave police a false name. Some checking determined that he was actually 23 year old Lance Fisher and was wanted in Maryland for a drive-by shooting. Maryland authorities will be coming to Liberty to pick him up. Fisher's brother Marquis was arrested for obstructing police when he tried to prevent officers from arresting Fisher at the house they were staying in on Ontario Street.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Monticello Shooting - Tracy Baxter @ 1:41 pm EST
Monticello Village police are reporting more trouble at the Sleepy Hollow apartments. Police say a teen was shot in the parking lot and a bullet smashed through an elderly woman's apartment window at the complex off Terri Lane late Monday night. Police say 3 men in a car pulled into the parking lot and fired off rounds at a vehicle. A 16 year old boy in a parked car was wounded in the arm and another gunshot went through the window of an apartment where an 85 year old woman lives. She wasn't hit. In the past couple of months Monticello police have been called to Sleepy Hollow to investigate shooting incidents and drug activity.

Suspect in Custody - Tracy Baxter @ 1:34 pm EST
Police in Dutchess county say they've got a suspect in custody who...they say...is responsible for some recent bank robberies in the county. Last month a Wachovia bank branch in the Town of Poughkeepsie was robbed by a man who walked in and handed the teller a note. A news conference is scheduled for 9 Wednesday morning at the Town of Poughkeepsie police department where more information on the suspect and the incidents will be released.

No Release - Tracy Baxter @ 1:31 pm EST
A former middle school teacher from Poughkeepsie...who killed and cannibalized a teenager 27 years ago...will be staying in the Mid-Hudson Psychiatric Center in New Hampton...for at least two more years. A State Supreme Court judge has ruled that 64 year old Albert Fentress remains a danger to society and should not be released. Fentress was found innocent by reason of insanity for the 1979 mutiliation and murder of 18 year old Paul Masters of Poughkeepsie. Fentress is eligible for release every two years unless a judge determines that he is still a danger.

Monday, September 25, 2006

Two Murder Arrests - Tracy Baxter @ 12:44 pm EST
State Police in Orange County have arrested two Middletown men for the murder of Franklyn Fitts, the man whose badly-decomposed body was discovered in the trunk of a parked car in the city of Newburgh last week. Police believe Fitts was beaten with a blunt object at a residence on Prince Street in Middletown, then was bound and gagged and thrown into the trunk of the car which was driven to Newburgh. 28 year old James Harris and 29 year old James Blagmon will face second degree murder charges. Blagmon was arrested last week on a drug possession charge. Investigators say the murder was drug related.

Friday, September 22, 2006

Arson Arrests - Tracy Baxter @ 12:03 pm EST
Poughkeepsie city police hope they've sent a message with Thursday's arrest of two Poughkeepsie Middle School girls. Police say the 15 year olds set a fire in a trash can in a third floor bathroom. The fire was quickly put out. The girls face charges of arson, conspiracy and criminal mischief.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

House Break-In - Tracy Baxter @ 1:14 pm EST
A Town of Plattekill homeowner is a firm believer in neighborhood watch...now that his neighbors helped State Police catch two teens accused of breaking into his house. It happened Wednesday evening when...investigators say...the pair forced open a rear door then forced open a safe that held 4 handguns and a 10 thousand dollar diamond ring. Neighbors saw two suspicious people and their description led to the arrests of 17 year old Jacob Kopaskie and 18 year old Jeffrey Lang, both of Plattekill. Police say three of the stolen handguns have been recovered so far.

Marijuana Arrest - Tracy Baxter @ 11:58 am EST
If you have drugs in your car, it's probably not a good idea to be speeding. A Kerhonkson man found that out the hard way Wednesday. State Police say 22 year old Eugene Barringer was speedig when they pulled him over on Minnewaska Trail in the Town of Wawarsing. In his car they found more than one and a half pounds of marijuana. Charges against Barringer include felony possession.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Manhunt Investigation - Tracy Baxter @ 12:34 pm EST
The state police union is blasting the management of the five-month search for Ralph "Bucky" Phillips...calling it inept. The union wants an independent investigation of the search which left one trooper dead and two injured. Phillips was captured September 8th, capping the largest manhunt in state history. Five days earlier, Trooper Joseph Longobardo died of injuries after getting shot during a stakeout. The President of the Troopers Police Benevolent Association, Daniel DeFedericis, says the manhunt was "poorly planned, poorly organized, poorly led and poorly executed". DeFedericis claims state police refused help from outside law enforcement and were not given appropriate body armor and communications equipment.

Theft Sentencing - Tracy Baxter @ 12:28 pm EST
The former treasurer of the Red Hook Parent Teacher Student Association has been sentenced for stealing more than 4 thousand dollars from the organization. Dutchess County Court Judge Gerald Hayes sentenced 43 year old Maureen Kevan to five years probation and 250 hours of community service. Kevan had pleaded guilty to felony grand larceny for the thefts that occurred over a two year period. Kevan had already paid back the almost 43 hundred dollars that she had stolen.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Ulster Body Identified - Tracy Baxter @ 2:43 pm EST
The Ulster County Sheriff's Department has determined the identity of the man whose badly decomposed body was discovered by people riding A-T-V's in a wooded area in the Town of Esopus Sunday afternoon. Detectives used dental records to identify 52 year old Barry Brecker. Police say he'd been living in the woods and that he'd been dead for about a month. A cause of death has not been determined but no foul play is suspected.

Body Identified - Tracy Baxter @ 1:02 pm EST
Newburgh City Police have identified the man whose body was discovered in the trunk of a car parked on First Street Sunday night. The body of 46 year old Franklyn Fitts of Yonkers was found in the trunk of a red Taurus parked on First Street. A strong odor coming from the trunk of the car led police to break into the vehicle where the body was found. An autopsy revealed that Fitts was a homicide victim but police did not release any details on how he was murdered. They're trying to determine what connection Fitts may have had to the area.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Middletown Crash - Tracy Baxter @ 3:39 pm EST
A bad accident late Thursday morning in the City of Middletown injured two people...one of them seriously. It happened at around 11 o'clock at the intersection of Mills Avenue and Hoffman Street. City Police say a car driven by 20 year old Christopher Lightfoot of the Town of Wallkill ran a stop sign and broadsided another car driven by 18 year old Brian Shaw of Bloomingburg. The impact of the collision sent the vehicles over a retaining wall where they crashed into a house. Lightfoot was taken to Orange Regional Medical Center. Shaw was airlifted to Westchester Medical Center where he was in serious condition. Police say Lightfoot was ticketed for passing the stop sign. Both were reportedly students at nearby Orange County Community College.

Suspects Charged - Tracy Baxter @ 11:08 am EST
A Middletown teen is facing a felony assault charge for shooting a 15 year old boy in the eye with a CO-2 powered handgun last Saturday. Police say 16 year old Justin Michel was among a group of teens drinking in a local park when the shooting occurred. The victim underwent eye surgery at Westchester Medical Center. In connection with the shooting, 22 year old Anthony Ubides of Middletown was arrested for providing alcohol to the teens. State Police also charged Ubides with taking part in the armed robbery of a woman who was making a night deposit at the Bank of America branch on Route 211 in the Town of Wallkill June 7th.

Friday, September 01, 2006

Internet Porn - Tracy Baxter @ 3:10 pm EST
A Town of Poughkeepsie man thought he was talking with a 14 year old girl in an internet chat-room. He sent her explicit images of himself but it wasn't a 14 year old girl he was talking to...it was a member of the Virginia State Police Special Investigations Unit. 55 year old Norman Reinhardt is being held on 50 thousand dollars bail on a felony charge of attempted dissemination of pornographic material to a minor.

School Burglary - Tracy Baxter @ 3:08 pm EST
Two Goshen teens were in school early Friday morning. The problem was...school isn't yet in session and they had broken into the building. An alarm at the Goshen Intermediate School alerted police to the break-in at about 12:20 this morning. Village police noticed the boys in the building. They ran out but village and town police officers caught them. The 15 and 16 year old were charged with felony burglary, criminal trespass, criminal mischief and petty larceny.

Removing Himself - Tracy Baxter @ 3:05 pm EST
It's a victory for those fighting the proposed electrical power line project through the Hudson Valley region. A member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission...who has expressed support for the project...will remove himself from future hearings. Commission member Marc Spitzer angered local opponents of the New York Regional Interconnect proposal...by calling the project a "no-brainer". The project would bring more electrical power to New York City and Long Island...but people in our area are working hard to try to block it.

Pharmacy Burglary - Tracy Baxter @ 3:02 pm EST
The pharmacy at a Rite Aid store in Poughkeepsie was closed for most of the day Thursday as staff was assessing what had been stolen during a break-in. It happened sometime after closing on Wednesday at the Rite Aid pharmacy on Vassar Road in the Red Oaks Mill Plaza. The burglars got into the pharmacy section only. Police were hoping someone saw something that would aid in their investigation.

Manhunt - Tracy Baxter @ 3:00 pm EST
State Police officers from the Hudson Valley and Catskill region were heading to Western New York today to aid in the search for the fugitive who has now shot three state troopers. 44 year old Bucky Phillips has been on the run since April when he escaped from the Erie County Jail. He shot and wounded a trooper in June who approached his car near Elmira New York...and now he has reportedly shot two other state police officers who came to the home of his ex-girlfriend near Fredonia New York. The troopers were reportedly in critical condition. State Police Superintendent Wayne Bennett says the troopers were ambushed while doing surveillance...never saw their attacker... and didn't fire back.