Seth Lyons. (Pool photos by Tania Barricklo/Daily Freeman)

Seth Lyons has been convicted of murder for the Nov. 29, 2017 beating death of Anthony Garro beneath the Elmendorf Street bridge in Midtown Kingston.  Following a trial before County Court Judge Donald Williams the six-man, six-woman jury on September 27 returned a verdict of guilty of second-degree murder. Lyons faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison when he is sentenced on Dec. 3.

Lyons, 20, brutally bludgeoned Garro, 49 as Garro lay on a sofa beneath the Elmendorf Street bridge spanning the former Catskill Mountain Railroad right of way, long a hangout for homeless and people with addiction problems. Lyons would later tell police that he had been up smoking crack cocaine for two days when he ran into Garro under the bridge. Suspecting Garro had stolen his cell phone, Lyons demanded to search his pockets. When Garro refused, Lyons told police he began beating him — first with his fists, then a beer bottle, then, in an escalating fury, bricks, tree limbs, rocks and finally a 54-pound boulder. A forensic pathologist told jurors that Garro suffered at least 14 separate blows to the head which caused overlapping skull fractures. After the beating, Lyons admitted that he stripped Garro and threw a discarded Christmas tree on top of the body.

Garro’s body was discovered around 8 a.m. the next morning. Lyons was taken into custody about two hours later after he walked into a deli 100 yards from the crime scene still wearing clothes soaked in Garro’s blood. A Kingston cop reviewing security camera footage in the deli spotted Lyons’ bloody clothing and held him for questioning. Over the course of a seven-hour interrogation by KPD detectives, Lyons admitted beating Garro but told officers he believed his victim was still alive when he left the scene. Lyons told cops that he became enraged after he began beating Garro and Garro responded by trying to grab his genitals.

At trial, defense attorney Bryan Rounds argued that a toxic brew of lack of sleep, drugs and a history of sexual abuse and mental illness caused Lyons to suffer an “extreme emotional disturbance” at the time of the attack. Rounds also argued that his client only intended to hurt, not kill, Garro.

If jurors had bought the extreme emotional disturbance defense, the second-degree murder charge would have been reduced to first-degree manslaughter with a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

The long arm of the law protects flowerbeds too.

Saugerties police sifted through every Jeep Wrangler owner in Ulster County to find and charge a driver that, police allege, intentionally drove into a man’s garden to punctuate a dispute on Sept. 20.

According to police, a man driving a 1994 Jeep Wrangler stopped on Route 32 in Glasco to chastise a homeowner for blowing leaves from his yard onto the roadway. The man, said police, then drove into the homeowner’s driveway and onto the lawn, intentionally running over the complainant’s flower garden.

The victim described the man and the vehicle to police, who were able to take the information and use it to narrow it down to Kevin E. Smith, 29, of Saugerties. Smith admitted to the horticultural wrongdoing when he was approached by detectives.

Smith was charged with the misdemeanor of fourth-degree criminal mischief. An order of protection was issued on the property owner’s behalf. After he was arraigned in town court, he was ordered to surrender all of his firearms and released pending a future court appearance.

Ulster County Jail

A contract employee at Ulster County Jail was arrested yesterday after an investigation concluded she was smuggling drugs and tobacco into the jail.

Detectives from the Sheriff’s Office began their investigation earlier this month after receiving a tip about the source of contraband in the jail. On Thursday, October 11, at approximately 3:15 p.m., detectives and members of the Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team conducted an operation in the Town of Rosendale that resulted in the arrest of Katrina Mitchell, 44, of Kerhonkson. Mitchell was arrested as she was conducting a transaction to receive opiate pharmaceuticals that police say she intended to smuggle into the jail in exchange for payment.

Mitchell is a commissary clerk employed by a private company contracted by the jail. 

City police are hoping that home security cameras and an unusual type of paint will lead them to the vandal or vandals who rampaged through Midtown over the weekend, leaving crudely painted Nazi and satanic symbols in their wake.

Kingston police believe the culprit or culprits struck sometime in the early morning hours of Sunday, Oct. 21. Police began receiving reports of the vandalism around 8 a.m. Police eventually found the graffiti at 18 separate locations in a swath of Midtown covering both sides of Broadway. Among the locations hit were the front doors of residences and vehicles parked on the street. The symbols included what appear to be incorrectly drawn (facing the opposite way from the version of the ancient symbol hijacked by the Nazis) swastikas and similarly amateurish pentagrams along with “666” and “SMH.” KPD Lt. Thierry Croizer said that it appeared the vandal struck at random. “We don’t think there was any intended target,” said Croizer.

Croizer said that based on the graffiti’s locations, the vandals likely followed a route from Madden Street over to Grand Street and Smith Avenue, before traveling on Downs Street to Broadway. From Broadway, Croizer said, the trail of hateful graffiti crosses over onto Franklin and Liberty streets. Croizer said detectives hoped a home or business video surveillance system had caught the culprit either in the act or moving between locations. Croizer called on anyone with a video security system along the vandals suspected route to check footage from early Sunday morning and report any unusual individuals or groups depicted in the footage.

Croizer added that detectives were focusing in on another clue, the type of paint used in the crime. Rather than the acrylic markers or spray paint favored by run-of-the-mill taggers, the vandal in this case used a black rubberized type of paint typically used to line truck beds or patch tires. Croizer added that city police were actively investigating the case and were determined to see the culprit or culprits brought to justice.

“We can’t have this happening in our city, it divides us too much,” said Croizer. “We want to put a stop to this as soon as possible.”

Meeting Thursday

While police continue their hunt for the hate-vandal, community leaders expressed outrage and alarm over the incident. In response to the vandalism, Ward 4 Alderwoman Rita Worthington called for a meeting at the Kingston Public Library scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 25. Worthington said KPD Chief Egidio Tinti would address the crowd and give an update on the investigation.

“This is very disturbing, especially since Kingston has gone to great lengths to make this a welcoming and inclusive city,” said Worthington. “For this to happen is a slap in the face.”

City Republicans, meanwhile, issued a statement blaming the vandalism on unnamed outsiders and linked the incident to the ongoing campaign for New York’s 19th Congressional District. A statement on the City of Kingston Republican Committee’s Facebook page reads, “… There is an element out there wants people to think that if you love your home, your community and your country, that you hate other things or other people. This is not us … This must be coming from outside the area. Like [Current NY 19 Democratic candidate Antonio] Delgado and the campaign they are running is coming from outside the area. Just like Hillary Clinton did. Just like Sean Eldridge did. Just like Zephyr Teachout did.”

Lucas Martinez

A Kingston man is facing a pair of felonies for, state police allege, trying to buy a real car with fake money.

State police Monday, Oct. 22 arrested Lucas Martinez and charged him with first-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and fourth-degree grand larceny, both felonies.

Troopers said that on Oct. 21, Martinez agreed to purchase a motor vehicle that was posted for sale on a smartphone sales app. Martinez met the seller and conducted the transaction, but it was later discovered that he used counterfeit money, troopers said.

Martinez was arraigned in Town of Kingston Justice Court and sent to Ulster County Jail in lieu of $50,000 cash bail or $100,000 bond. He was scheduled to appear in Town of Ulster Court on Oct. 24.

Jeremy Blaber (file photo)

A onetime political operative and city employee who famously taped Kingston’s former Mayor in a vulgar and threatening tirade has been arrested in Saugerties.

According to Saugerties police, Jeremy K. Blaber, 31, was arrested around 2 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 22 after he allegedly tried to sell stolen jewelry at a village antique store. Cops say they received a call from the Saugerties Antique Center reporting that a man was attempting to sell golden rings that the caller recognized as stolen. Investigation by Saugerties police detectives revealed that the rings had previously been stolen from a consignment shop on North Front Street in Kingston. Police say Blaber was uncooperative and refused to tell police how he came into possession of the rings.

Blaber was charged with misdemeanor fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property. He was arraigned in Saugerties Village Court and released on his own recognizance.

Blaber is a former political operative who once served on the Kingston Democratic Committee and ran unsuccessfully for the party’s nomination for a Ninth Ward Common Council seat. He was part of the team that helped elect former Kingston mayor Shayne Gallo. He later landed a job in Gallo’s administration as a part-time parking enforcement officer. In April 2013, Gallo fired Blaber after he was caught on a security camera stealing candy from a deli while in uniform. In the ensuing confrontation, which Blaber secretly recorded, Gallo is heard hurling expletives, threatening to have Blaber arrested and at one point shouting that city attorney Andrew Zweben, who was present for the outburst, would have to “pull me off you.” Blaber later released the tape to the press, calling it evidence of Gallo’s instability.

Kingston Police say four 12-year-olds are responsible for painting offensive graffiti on buildings on Sunday, Oct. 21 and did it for “shock value rather than hate.”

Police said it was important to share this information with the public following the shooting last Saturday that killed 11 at a Pittsburgh synagogue.

The Kingston graffiti included backwards swastikas, “666”, stars, and other tags.

According to police: “The investigation into the crime, corroborated by evidence, showed that the graffiti was sprayed where it was convenient. They were not spreading an ideology or belief, nor were they targeting any one individual, group, or entity in particular. Although this crime struck many emotions in our community, it was not motivated by bias of race, sex, religion or other prejudice.”

Police said the investigation was ongoing and no further information would be released at this time.

Carlos Andino-Lopez

An Ellenville man and a Greenfield Park woman are facing charges after a “buy and bust” operation by city police.

According to police Carlos Andino-Lopez and Ina Jennings were arrested on Oct. 30 following a joint operation by the Kingston Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit, the Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team and a Town of Ulster K-9 unit. Cops say they seized a “substantial amount” of heroin in the undercover operation.

Andino-Lopez is charged with felony counts of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and third- and fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. He was held for arraignment. Information on bail was not immediately available.

Jennings was charged with misdemeanor seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and released with an appearance ticket.

Jesse J. Smith

Christina Bach Arvidson

Christina Bach Arvidson, 31, a former Saugerties resident, was killed Nov. 5 in what state police are calling a murder-suicide at her home in the Schoharie County town of Summit.

According state police public information officer Trooper Kerra Burns, autopsies confirmed that 24-year-old Dustin McMahon turned the gun on himself after shooting Arvidson. She said police were dispatched to the home at 12:15 p.m. on Nov. 6 after, she wrote in an email, an “associate of the couple” was called by McMahon’s employer when he did not show up to work. The person then called authorities when he found the pair dead in the home. Citing the ongoing investigation, troopers declined to give further information on the deceased’s relationship or the type of gun used.

A professional photographer and a mother of three, Arvidson’s professional website and Facebook page contain numerous photos she took — newlywed couples, wide-eyed babies and family portraits. According to her obituary, she was born in Kingston to Sharon and Daniel Bach, and graduated from Saugerties High School in 2005. She had an associate’s degree from SUNY Cobleskill and a bachelor’s degree from Empire State College. She is survived by her husband, William Arvidson; her three children, Annie Grace, Logan and Talon; her parents; her grandparents; and her siblings, Niki, Jesse and Tara.

“She cherished her children and all their activities and was the most amazing Aunt,” her obituary stated.

“Christina was a bright light,” wrote Arvidson’s sister Nikki on the Gofundme page for a fund established to defray funeral expenses and help her children. “A strong, loving, hard-working, and loyal mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend. A gifted photographer, she captured the most precious moments of countless lives, instantly putting families at ease with her infectious sense of humor and down-to-earth personality. … Christina was a truly dedicated mother, educating and devoting herself to become the best possible advocate for her children, and always putting them first. … [H]er strength, dedication, devotion, and sheer love for her children and loved ones will be her greatest legacy.”

Police are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident — anyone with pertinent information is encouraged to contact State Police Troop G at (518) 783-3211.

Donations for funeral expenses and towards the care of Arvidson’s children can be made out to Arvidson Children’s Fund, c/o Sawyer Savings Bank, 87 Market St., Saugerties, NY 12477. Prospective donors can also use the family’s Gofundme page, https://www.gofundme.com/in-memory-of-christina-bach

Maurice Stansberry Sr., Maurice Stansberry Jr. and Kevin Gardener.

A 38-year-old man and two 17-year-old males have been arrested in connection with a shooting that took place Saturday, December 1 in the roadway on Sawkill Rd. in the town of Ulster.

The incident, which took place shortly before noon, resulted in the death of Mark Lancaster, 39, of Kingston. Lancaster was transported from the scene by ambulance to Health Alliance Hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

The investigation resulted in the arrest of Maurice Stansberry Sr., 38, of Kingston. Stansberry was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Two 17-year-old males were also charged with two counts of second-degree murder. They are: Maurice Stansberry Jr. and Kevin Gardener, both of Kingston.

All three defendants were arraigned in the Town of Ulster Court and remanded to the Ulster County Jail without bail. They are scheduled to return to the Town of Ulster Court on Tuesday December at 2 p.m.

The investigation into the incident is still ongoing.

The State Police were assisted in the investigation by The Ulster County District Attorney’s Office, The Ulster County Sheriff’s Office, City of Kingston Police Department, Town of Ulster Police Department and the Ulster Hose Fire Department.

Connor Chargois

Nearly 10 months after his arrest on Feb. 27, a Saugerties High student who was found in possession of an arsenal after police were tipped off by social media posts which referred to the Columbine killers has admitted his guilt.

Connor Chargois, 18, of 5 Sawyerville Terrace pleaded guilty on Nov. 30 to the felony of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a charge that carries a maximum of seven years in prison. His sentencing before county court Judge Donald A. Williams is scheduled for Feb. 8, 2019.

Back on Feb. 21, after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting in Parkland, Fla. and on the same day as a public forum on school safety, Chargois took to the messaging app Snapchat, writing that he “env[ied] Eric and Dylan [Harris and Klebold, the Columbine shooters],” that “it must have been so f—ing fun” and that “they had the right f—ing idea.” Within hours of posting, students notified administration, who then brought the troubling messages to the Saugerties Police Department. Detectives, with the assistance of state police and the county DA’s office, determined that Chargois had authored the messages. They interviewed both Chargois and his father, 58-year-old Bruce Chargois; while Connor Chargois admitted writing the Snapchat messaging, he and his father denied that they had access to any weaponry.

But in the ensuing investigation, police seized ammunition of varying calibers, homemade knives, machine-fabricated gun parts, a prototype of a firearm that Connor Chargois admitted he had been manufacturing in his basement, as well as a number of completed homemade firearms in both .22-caliber and 9 mm capacities, authorities said.

Bruce and Connor Chargois

The Saugerties father-son duo who were both charged with felony weapon charges earlier this year after the son made threatening remarks online were in county court recently to plead guilty.

Connor Chargois of 5 Sawyerville Terrace, 18 at the time of his arrest, pleaded guilty on Nov. 30 to the felony of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a charge that carries a maximum of seven years in prison. His sentencing before county court Judge Donald A. Williams is scheduled for Feb. 8, 2019.

According to authorities, back on Feb. 21, after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting in Parkland, Fla. and on the same day as a public forum on school safety, Chargois took to the smartphone apps Snapchat and Instagram, writing that he “env[ied] Eric and Dylan [Harris and Klebold, the Columbine shooters],” that “it must have been so f—ing fun” and that “they had the right f—ing idea.” Within hours of posting, students notified school administrators, who then brought the troubling messages to the Saugerties Police Department. Detectives, with the assistance of state police and the county DA’s office, determined that Chargois had written the messages. They interviewed both Chargois and his father, 58-year-old Bruce Chargois; while Connor Chargois admitted writing the message, he and his father denied that they had access to any weaponry.

But in the ensuing investigation, police seized ammunition of varying calibers, homemade knives, machine-fabricated gun parts and a prototype of a firearm that Connor Chargois admitted he had been manufacturing in his basement, as well as a number of completed homemade firearms in both .22-caliber and 9 mm capacities, authorities said.

Bruce Chargois made his own guilty plea Wednesday morning in Ulster County Court to a felony count of tampering with physical evidence. He will be sentenced on Feb. 14, 2019.

“I’m struggling with this case, as I have from the outset — this may be one of the most difficult sentences I’ve participated in in 39 years,” said Judge Williams. “This case and your son’s case are causing great consternation to this court. I have read every letter, every word of the hundreds of letters that I have in your support.”

Bruce Chargois admitted he hid his son’s arsenal of weaponry inside Greco Amusement Center arcade machines during the investigation into his son’s threats. He was also charged with the class D felony of third-degree possession of a weapon in Feb., but this charge was dropped in accordance with the plea deal agreed to by District Attorney Holley Carnright.

About two-dozen spectators, including Village Mayor Bill Murphy and Town Justice-elect Christopher Kraft, were in court. A number of interesting factual nuggets about the case were sprinkled into the hour-long court session. Along with the fully automatic 9mm Uzi submachine gun, an AR-15 rifle, ammo of varying calibers, homemade knives, machine-fabricated gun parts, a prototype of a gun that Connor Chargois had admitted to making in the basement and a number of finished guns in both .22-caliber and 9mm capacities, a Sten gun and a Mosin-Nagant rifle were found.

The judge asked “where in God’s name” were two high-capacity feeding devices for which the packaging was found at the Sawyerville Terrace home, but not the devices themselves.

“If those feeding devices have not been recovered, they pose an even more serious threat to this community and this court will consider that in its sentencing,” said Williams.

Bruce Chargois admitted in court to transporting the weapons from his home to his workplace in attempt to hide them. Initially, Bruce Chargois described them as “the items,” to which Williams shot back, “A toothbrush is an item.” Then, the defendant called them “the guns,” and when Williams asked him to elaborate, Chargois mentioned that he did not know what an Uzi looked like.

Williams then had the bailiff swear Chargois in and interrogated him on his knowledge of the weapon, asking whether he had ever seen a war film or performed Google searches when his son took a dramatic interest in weaponry. Bruce Chargois then told the court that he might faint — Judge Williams said later that this wasn’t the first time he’s intimidated a defendant to the point of fainting — and the court went into a brief recess.

After recovering, Bruce admitted to purchasing weapon-building kits at a Numrich Arms outlet when his son was 16, two years prior to this year’s incident.

“You should’ve asked, ‘What can my son do with these? What are the dangers? What is the final product?’” chided Williams. “Were you concerned that a 16-year-old may have components that he could assemble a machine gun with?”

The case was prosecuted by Chief Assistant District Attorney Michael Kavanagh. Bruce Chargois was represented by Tom Melanson, while his son was represented by Cappy Weiner.

Left, Kevin Gardener (rear) and Maurice Stansberry Jr. leave court; right, Maurice Stansberry Sr. enters court. (Photos by Jesse J. Smith)

A father, his teenage son and a third teen are accused in the shooting death of a Kingston man on an isolated stretch of Sawkill Road over the weekend.

Police say the incident occurred just before noon on Saturday, Dec. 1 near 341 Sawkill Road, adjacent to the Boice farm. Police say Maurice Stansberry, 38, of Kingston, his son, Maurice Stansberry Jr., 17, and Kevin Gardener, also 17 and also of Kingston, got into an altercation with Mark Lancaster and an unidentified witness. (On social media, several people claiming to be friends and family of Lancaster said that the witness was Lancaster’s own 17-year-old son, a fact corroborated by one source close to the investigation.) Police say both parties were parked off the roadway when the dispute took place.

According to police, the elder Stansberry shot Lancaster through the torso, leaving him mortally wounded. Lancaster was later transported to HealthAlliance Hospital Broadway Campus, where he was pronounced dead. 

The killing and subsequent hunt for the suspects triggered a massive, multi-agency police response Saturday afternoon. Sawkill Road was closed between Route 209 and Washington Avenue. Heavily armed tactical teams staged in a parking lot on Hurley Avenue and conducted a search in the adjacent Stony Run apartment complex.

According to state police records, one of the teen suspects was arrested at the crime scene 20 minutes after the shooting. A second was arrested at an undisclosed location in Kingston at 9:23 p.m. the night of the shooting. Stansberry Sr. was arrested in Kingston at 7:08 p.m.

All three suspects were arraigned in Ulster Town Court on charges of second-degree murder and jailed without bail. On Tuesday, Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright said state police investigators had zeroed in on a motive for the crime, but he declined further comment pending the presentation of the case to a grand jury.

“These parties were known to each other,” said Carnright. “This was not a random act.” 

On Tuesday, all three suspects appeared in court for a hearing before Town Court Judge Marsha Weiss. Last year, Stansberry Jr. played on the Kingston High School football team. In May, he made the school’s honor roll. A number of KHS students, as well as friends and family of the defendants, packed the courtroom during the hearing and stood outside in clusters speaking in hushed tones and crying. 

Inside the courtroom, closely guarded by sheriff’s deputies and Town of Ulster officers, the Stansberrys and Gardener appeared before Weiss at a hearing to determine if they had counsel and whether they wanted a preliminary hearing. All three men remained expressionless during the hearing. At one point Stansberry Sr. tilted his head back and appeared to doze off. 

Gardener, who was represented by attorney Paul Gruner, and Stansberry Jr., represented by attorney Joe O’Connor, opted to forgo the preliminary hearing — where prosecutors must reveal enough evidence to convince a judge that the defendants’ continued detention is justified — after being informed by Assistant District Attorney Margot Hanstein that the case was likely to go before a grand jury on Thursday, Dec. 6.

Public defender Andrew Kossover, who represents Stansberry Sr., opted for a preliminary hearing on Friday, Dec. 7 at 9 a.m. Kossover said he and his client decided to proceed with the hearing after Hanstein declined to turn over video in support of the prosecution’s case.

Following the hearing, all three suspects were returned to the Ulster County Jail without bail.

Maurice Stansberry Sr., Maurice Stansberry Jr. and Kevin Gardener.

Police believe a Kingston man was shot and killed in a dispute over two ounces of marijuana following a car chase on Sawkill Road.

Maurice Stansberry, 38, his son, 17-year-old Maurice Stansberry Jr. and Kevin Gardener, 17, have been charged with second-degree murder in the Dec. 1 incident that left Mark Lancaster, 39 dead. The elder Stansberry, who police believe fired the fatal shot, is also charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree.

According to conversations with attorneys involved in the case and evidence presented at bail hearings in the week since the shooting, police believe the incident began with a dispute at the Sawkill trailer park between the Stansberrys and Gardener and another group that included Lancaster and two others. One source close to the investigation said that one of those involved in the dispute and a witness to the shooting was Lancaster’s own 17-year-old son. Cops believe the confrontation was over two ounces of marijuana. Following the dispute, police believe the Stansberrys and Gardener fled the trailer park, pursued by a car containing Lancaster and two more unidentified individuals. The pursuit ended just before noon near 341 Sawkill Road. According to attorney Joseph O’Connor, who represents Stansberry Jr., a video from a dashboard camera of a vehicle parked near the crime scene captured what happened next.

“You can hear the shot coming from out of [Stansberry’s] car,” said O’Connor. 

After the shooting, Lancaster was taken to HealthAlliance Hospital’s Broadway Campus where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy would later cite a gunshot wound to the torso as the cause of death. One of the teen suspects (state police documents to not specify which) was taken into custody at the crime scene. Stansberry and a second teen were arrested in Kingston later that evening. All three have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

Following a bail hearing last week, the elder Stansberry was sent to Ulster County Jail without bail. Bail for his son is set at $300,000. Gardener remains in the Ulster County Jail; it’s unclear if bail has been set. 

O’Connor described his client as a “good kid” who lived with his mother in Kingston and attended Kingston High School. Stansberry Jr. plays on the Kingston High School football team and, in May, appeared on the junior class honor roll. O’Connor said his client had received letters in support of his bail application from a number of his fellow students and some teachers at the school. Gardener’s attorney, Paul Gruner, said his client had recently dropped out of Kingston High School to look for work and was enrolled in a GED program. Gardener, he added, lived with his mother and stepfather in Kingston and had no previous criminal convictions. 

An obituary for Lancaster described him as a Kingston native and father of six, including a four-month-old daughter. The death notice said that Lancaster was an event promoter who enjoyed mixing music, skateboarding and gardening. 

“He was a crazy, bright and fun spirit in this world,” the obituary reads.

Attorneys for the accused said that they expected the case to go before an Ulster County grand jury in January. Law enforcement officials, meanwhile, say that the investigation is ongoing and additional charges could be brought.

“Frankly, at this point in the case it is too early to be commenting on any of the evidence,” said Gruner. “There is still a lot to be done in terms of investigating the case.”

Deandre Green

Ulster County law enforcement officials say that a forged-check scheme uncovered by the District Attorney’s Office illustrates how social media and easily available software brings age-old scams into today’s world.

On Dec. 5, Deandre H. Green, 20, of Kingston was indicted by an Ulster County grand jury on two felony counts of scheme to defraud and 25 felony counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument. Green, who is currently serving two to six years in state prison on unrelated robbery charges in Poughkeepsie and Albany, was indicted following a two-year investigation by the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office. Officials say the alleged crimes contained in the indictment took place between October 2016 and January 2017. The scam ended when Green was locked up for the robberies.

“It took a couple of years for us to get all of the evidence together to obtain this indictment,” said Ulster County Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Culmone-Mills.

Officials say that Green’s foray into bank fraud began simply enough, stealing checks from mailboxes in Uptown Kingston, altering the amounts and the payees and attempting to deposit them. The scheme evolved when Green obtained software used to generate payroll checks and began using social media to recruit accomplices. According to Culmone-Mills, Green would reach out to potential accomplices by posting photos of cash and promises of easy money. Participants were asked to open bank accounts and send Green their online banking data including passwords, account numbers and routing numbers. Other accomplices sent Green copies of their payroll checks. Green would use the checks as a template and, using the computer program would generate new, forged ones. Green would then deposit the forged checks into various bank accounts and attempt to withdraw the funds. Culmone-Mills said Green recruited as many as 65 people to aid him in the scheme by providing paychecks, banking information or both. Most of the recruits, she said were young adults lacking in financial sophistication. 

“He used younger, naïve — and I’m using ‘naïve’ generously — people,” said Culmone-Mills of Green’s accomplices.

Green’s scam began to unravel in 2016 when a District Attorney’s Office investigator stumbled across some of his social media posts. Suspecting a bank fraud scam, the investigator alerted prosecutors, who launched an investigation. Meanwhile, Green continued to deposit thousands of dollars in forged checks into a number of local and national financial institutions.

The indictment alleges that Green attempted to deposit $24,847 from 10 separate businesses and individuals. That figure, Culmone-Mills said, only includes transactions that took place in Ulster County and where investigators were able to establish a clear link between Green and the fraud. Overall, Culmone-Mills said, investigators believe Green tried to deposit about $800,000.

Despite the seemingly lucrative nature of the fraud, Culmone-Mills said that Green reaped relatively meager returns. Usually, she said, banks declined to clear the checks, most of which totaled between $400 and $500. 

“In most cases these we’re accounts that had just been opened with $5 in them,” said Culmone-Mills. “So the banks didn’t let the checks go through.”

Of the $24,847 in fraudulent checks charged in the indictment, investigators believe Green was only able to withdraw $1,987. As for the people who handed Green their banking information and paychecks to aid the scam, few of them, Culmone said, saw any of the promised windfall. 

“He wound up scamming everyone,” said Culmone-Mills. “A lot of the participants didn’t get a dollar out of it.”

Culmone-Mills said similar forged check scams had popped up in other jurisdictions, including one that was the subject of a massive indictment by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office earlier this year. Culmone-Mills said the scheme spread virally online; investigators believe that Green learned the scam and obtained the software needed to forge the checks through a network of online conments. Green, in turn, may have taught the con game to others.

“We know this is still going on,” said Culmone-Mills. “There are people out there doing this and recruiting others to do it.”

The Elmendorf Street Bridge (photo by Dan Barton)

Seth Lyons

Seth Lyons knew Anthony Garro for just a few minutes before he beat him to death.

In a statement to police that was played at his trial, Lyons tells cops that on the night of Nov. 29, 2017, Garro offered him a sandwich as they sat on a discarded couch in a trash-strewn railroad cut underneath the Elmendorf Street Bridge in Midtown. Lyons, 20, had been up for several days straight — smoking crack, living on the street and feeling suicidal. Garro, he told police, offered to talk to him about problems. Instead, Lyons suspecting — apparently falsely — that Garro had taken his cell phone, viciously attacked him as he was sleeping. Lyons battered Garro to death with bricks, bottles and a large boulder. Then he left Garro’s partially nude corpse next to the tracks beneath a discarded Christmas tree.

On Monday, Dec. 17, members of Garro’s family attended Lyons sentencing in Ulster County Court and told Judge Donald Williams that their loved one’s offer of a sandwich and a sympathetic ear to a troubled young stranger was exactly what they would expect from Garro — a compassionate and generous man whose life was derailed by a genetic defect and an unconquerable addiction to alcohol.

“He saved your life, that is exactly what he did,” said Garro’s longtime girlfriend Laurie Difalco. “He was trying to help you, because that’s the kind of person he was.”

Lyons, formerly of Port Ewen, was convicted of second-degree murder following a jury trial in Ulster County Court. At trial, defense attorney Bryan Rounds argued that his client, who had a long history of mental illness, acted out of “extreme emotional disturbance” brought on by drug use and lack of sleep. Rounds also argued that Lyons did not actually intend to kill Garro in the frenzied attack.

In his remarks prior to sentencing, Judge Williams said he wholeheartedly agreed with jurors’ rejection of both arguments. Williams went on to sentence Lyons to the maximum, 25 years to life in state prison. Williams said he would also recommend that Lyons serve his time separated from the general prison population and that he receive intensive treatment for mental illness while behind bars.

“You are a dangerous peril to commit violent acts upon others if permitted by this court, or the Division of Parole,” said Williams.

The family speaks

Anthony Garro Jr.

Prior to sentencing, Garro’s parents, sister, aunt and girlfriend spoke about his life and struggles in a victim impact statement. Anthony Garro Sr. told the court that he and his wife adopted Anthony as a newborn in 1968. All they knew about his parents is that they were Native American migrant workers. Garro, a scientist and academic, said that he would later learn that his son suffered from brain damage caused by in utero exposure to alcohol. His son, Garro said, suffered from a severe learning disability and had become a full-blown alcoholic by age 15. As an adult he worked sporadically, and often lived on the streets as he struggled with his addiction.

Garro settled in Kingston in the early 2000s. He was the father to a 17-year-old daughter who was raised in New Jersey by her grandparents. Garro Sr. said that despite his struggles, his son remained a valued member of the family who he recalled as an avid fisherman, a talented artist and a standout athlete.

“We never lost hope that turn from that life and return to our family,” said Garro of his son’s life on the streets. “But Mr. Lyons took that hope from us.”

Difalco told the court that she and Garro had been together for a decade and that he frequently lived with her. Garro, she said, was a “savior” who would often be penniless because he had given away his last few dollars to someone a little worse off. A few years ago, she said, he witnessed a 17-year-old boy struck by a train in Kingston. By the time police arrived, Garro had stripped nearly naked using his clothes as tourniquets in a vain attempt to save the boy’s life. Other family members spoke of sleepless nights and disturbing intrusive thoughts of Garro’s last moments that have haunted them since his death.

“He has no soul, no conscience, no idea of mercy, no sense of right or wrong,” said Dawn Garro of her brother’s killer. “And because of that we will be left hurting for the rest of our lives.”

Andrew S, Rodriguez

Update: Police report Friday afternoon that Rodriguez has been arrested. 

Saugerties police are searching for a man who broke into a home in the village and tried to take the homeowner’s pills at gunpoint at 8:45 p.m. on Wednesday, December 19.

The alleged perpetrator, 21-year-old Andrew S. Rodriguez, allegedly threatened to shoot the homeowner and his health aide if they didn’t give him the medication, and got physical with the homeowner; police arrived after both the healthcare aide and a neighbor who heard the commotion called 911. Rodriguez left the scene in a waiting vehicle that was parked in front of the home — no one involved saw the make and model of the vehicle, or its license plate number. Police said Rodriguez had a personal relationship with the homeowner, and that he is still considered armed and dangerous.

“It’s a desperate measure when you enter someone’s home with a gun,” said Police Chief Joseph Sinagra Friday morning. “If [locals] hear a knock at the door, they should know who it is — if they don’t, they should be calling the police.”

Police said Rodriguez is 5’9″ with black hair and brown eyes, and weighs approximately 180 pounds. Saugerties Police obtained a warrant for his arrest, in which he is charged with the felonies of first-degree attempted burglary and first-degree armed robbery.

Anyone who may know the whereabouts of Andrew S. Rodriguez is asked to call the Saugerties Police Department (845) 246-9800. All calls will be kept confidential.

Detectives from the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office are investigating a robbery in the Town of Gardiner.

On December 24 at approximately 4:30 a.m., deputies responded to a report of an armed robbery at the Mobil convenience store at 604 Route 208 in Gardiner.

Preliminary investigation suggests a male entered the store, displayed a knife and demanded money. The suspect is described as a white male, medium height, medium build, wearing a white hooded sweatshirt, dark athletic pants, black gloves and a red bandana. The store sustained a small cash loss.

Members of the public with information are asked to contact Detective Peter Montfort at (845) 340-3663 or (845) 338-3640.

Andrew Rodriguez

Helped by tips from the public, Saugerties police nabbed a burglar, considered armed and dangerous, on the afternoon of Dec. 21 who, police allege, stole oxycodone at gunpoint from an elderly village homeowner two days earlier 

Andrew S. Rodriguez, 21, has since been sent to Ulster County Jail on $100,000 bail and has been charged with the felonies of first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary.

According to Saugerties Police Chief Joseph Sinagra, Rodriguez was previously the victim’s home care aide, and knew there were drugs in the house. Rodriguez, police said, allegedly threatened to shoot the homeowner and his current health aide if they didn’t give him the medication, and got physical with the homeowner; police arrived after both the healthcare aide and a neighbor who heard the commotion called 911. Police said Rodriguez left the scene in a waiting vehicle that was parked in front of the home — no one involved saw the make and model of the vehicle, or its license plate number. 

Tips from the public brought detectives to 189 North St. in Kingston; Sinagra said the perpetrator had been recently evicted from his previous apartment, which complicated the search. When Rodriguez left the apartment and saw officers outside, he reportedly ducked back into the house and called the Saugerties Police Department for guidance on how to comply safely, because there were small children in the apartment. Sinagra said that he spoke to the fugitive personally, and stayed on the line with him until he was put into handcuffs.

A preliminary hearing is set for Rodriguez in Village Court on Dec. 27.

Sinagra said that, in this case, “the media really [facilitated] a quick resolution.”

Chief Joseph Sinagra (photo by Dan Barton)

Statistics released by the Saugerties Police Department for January through November of 2018 show a spike in felony offenses since 2017, but reduced numbers of misdemeanors and total crimes. This is mirrored in national trends, according to Saugerties Police Chief Joseph Sinagra.

Most of the 76 recorded felonies this year, as opposed to the 52 in 2017, were the result of crimes against property — stolen jewelry, vandalism, criminal mischief and general damage to or loss of property — rather than violent crimes, said the chief. “Although charges are up, it’s not a reflection of crimes against people.”

Sinagra attributes this, partially, to a higher replacement value for damaged or lost items — goods are just becoming more expensive every year, pushing what would be misdemeanor crimes up to felonies. A total of 177 misdemeanors were recorded, not including arrests made in December, as opposed to 224 in 2017.

Only one pedestrian was hit this year, a drastic decline from the 14 recorded in 2013; since that year, the number has been steadily declining. Sinagra said that this single accident was caused by error on the pedestrian’s behalf rather than the operator of the vehicle that struck them.

“Although some people thought we were being overzealous in our pedestrian safety efforts, the numbers show that our efforts were worth it,” said Sinagra. “We’ve seen a drastic decrease in pedestrians’ accidents. It’s an ongoing educational effort but it pays off in the end. When you look at the big picture, people aren’t going to the hospital which lowers insurance premiums. We have a healthier society for it.”

Similarly, there were no fatal car accidents between January and November of 2018; last year there were three. The amount of car accidents fell drastically — 578 as opposed to 638 in 2017.

Although statistics are not yet available for the number of mental hygiene arrests — instances where, due to an individual’s possible inclination to hurt themselves or others, that individual is involuntarily transported to the closest hospital — Sinagra said that they have been gradually increasing each year, and predicts that 2018 will be no different. In 2016, 117 such transports were carried out; in 2017, there were 148.

“It’s a direct reflection of the dismantled healthcare system that we have in this country, particularly New York State,” Sinagra posited. “We see more and more people that are suffering from mental health issues that are not getting the intensive, daily care that they need.”

Two-hundred eighty-one detective cases were opened between January and November of 2018 as opposed to 346 in 2017 — Sinagra said that the numbers would be closer after the numbers of cases opened in December were factored in.

Throughout 2018, including December, the total number of complaints called into the department came to 24,594, in comparison to the 21,973 tallied in 2017.

More robust data, including numbers for December 2018 and a more involved breakdown of types of crimes will be available in January or February. Sinagra said to get a truly accurate picture of policing trends, these reports would need to be considered. Additionally, data would need to be cross-referenced with that of the sheriff’s office and the State Department of Environmental Conservation police, who also respond to calls in Saugerties. Mandated as a term of the department’s continued status as an accredited agency in the state, Sinagra said that compiling these statistics each year helped the department “stay ahead of the curve” in their policing.