State grants used to fight crime in the mid-Hudson Valley will decrease sharply in the coming year, according to Gov. David Paterson.

On Tuesday, Paterson said Operation IMPACT grants totaling $13.5 million will be awarded, down more than 10 percent from about $15.1 [...]]]> Michael Valkys • Poughkeepsie Journal • July 21, 2010

Three Dutchess County residents have been ordered to appear in Town of Dover Court on Monday following their arrest on charges related to the theft of metal storm grates, state police said. Laura Mahar, 25, of Amenia and Dalvin Bermudez, [...]]]> Police & court briefs

July 7, 2010

From PJ.com

3 accused of taking metal storm grates

Three Dutchess County residents have been ordered to appear in Town of Dover Court on Monday following their arrest on charges related to the theft of metal storm grates, state police said. Laura Mahar, 25, of Amenia and Dalvin Bermudez, 22, of the Town of Pawling have been charged with fourth-degree grand larceny, a felony, state police said Saturday. A 28-year-old Town of Dover woman has been charged with petty larceny, a misdemeanor, and was issued an appearance ticket. The arrests occurred June 22. The three are accused of removing metal storm grates from the Sherman Hills Development in the Town of Dover. A neighbor who police said watched the three take the grates provided a description of them and their vehicle, police said.

In the wake of a violent crime, it may be difficult to remember details, or even have the wherewithal to call 911.

Contacting authorities immediately, filing a timely police report and relaying information in a clear, concise way [...]]]>

June 28, 2010

Police urge victims to report crimes quickly

Emily Stewart
Poughkeepsie Journal

In the wake of a violent crime, it may be difficult to remember details, or even have the wherewithal to call 911.

Contacting authorities immediately, filing a timely police report and relaying information in a clear, concise way makes it easier for law enforcement to track down the people responsible and bring closure for the victims.

The first thing to do if you’re a victim of a crime is to get through the incident without injury, said Detective Sgt. Matt Clark of the City of Poughkeepsie police.

Once safe, try to remember as much information as possible to give to police.

“Try and get a look at the people doing it,” he said.

Take note of what clothing they were wearing, what their faces looked like, what kind of car they drove and the license plate number, if possible. Also, what direction did they travel and what time did the crime happen?

Then, call 911 as soon as possible.

“Obviously, from our opinion, the sooner you call the police the better … while the information is still fresh in your mind,” Clark said.

“The sooner you call, the sooner we can get there and look for the people who did it. … The sooner you get the ball rolling,” he said.

Not everyone alerts authorities right away. Sometimes, enough time passes that the trail goes cold.

Even waiting several minutes can give an assailant enough time to get away.

“That does happen,” Clark said. “For whatever reason, they’ve waited so long that there’s no way we’re going to track people down or recover any evidence.”

Kathy Peluso, coordinator for the Family Services Crime Victims Assistance Program, said sometimes, particularly in instances of sexual assault, victims do not always remember all the information right away.

“A couple days later, you might remember this happened or that happened, especially when you’re drugged,” she said. “Victims might not be ready to file a police report right away. Or they might be afraid of retribution.

“It’s important for investigators to understand that,” she said.

The Crime Victims Assistance Program provides free counseling, accompaniment to court and police stations, assistance filing a claim with the state Crime Victims Board for compensation of medical bills, and emergency assistance to victims of serious crimes, according to its website.

Advocates are available 24 hours a day, through the program’s hotline, to accompany victims to police stations, court or other county agencies, Peluso said.

“People are sometimes afraid to file a police report,” she said. “We’re not lawyers, but we can provide as much information as possible. … Sometimes it helps just to have someone there. An advocate can help them understand what’s going to happen, what questions are going to be asked and try to keep them calm.”

The 24-hour crime victims hotline is 845-452-7272.

For more information on victims’ services and resources in Dutchess County, visit www.co.dutchess.ny.us/Community/14412.htm.

“Crime Beat,” which explores law enforcement issues and cases worked by police in the mid-Hudson Valley, appears each Monday. To suggest a topic, call 845-437-4834. Reach Emily Stewart at estewart@poughkeepsiejournal.com or 845-437-4882.

DANBURY — A report of a suspicious male hanging around Harmony Street and looking into car windows Thursday led to the arrest of a Pawling, N.Y. man on multiple charges.

Lt. Thomas Michael said when officers approached the man, Ian Clokey, 28, he ran away and hopped [...]]]>

Diana Cretella will be our HPNW [...]]]> Please email hpneighborhoodwatch@gmail.com and let us know if you can volunteer to help with Security, Staffing the Lost Child Booth and some Traffic Directing for the Pawling Fire Dept Community Carnival on Friday August 6th from 5PM to 11PM and on Saturday August 7th from 1:00 PM to 11:00 PM.

Diana Cretella will be our HPNW Leader for this very worthwhile Pawling Community effort. Please look at your calendar and email back with your availability.

Thank you in advance for your willingness to help.

Please call me at 845-803-1571 if you have any questions.

Bob Eichinger

Independence Day is a time to celebrate with family and friends, barbecue steaks and enjoy fireworks displays. It’s also a time to be careful and avoid hazards such as illegal fireworks, drunken driving and boating [...]]]>

July 1, 2010

Experts: Dodge dangers at holiday celebrations

Emily Stewart
Poughkeepsie Journal

Independence Day is a time to celebrate with family and friends, barbecue steaks and enjoy fireworks displays. It’s also a time to be careful and avoid hazards such as illegal fireworks, drunken driving and boating accidents.

U.S. hospital emergency rooms treated an estimated 7,000 people for fireworks-related injuries in 2008. Fifty-three percent of those were to people’s extremities and 37 percent were head injuries, according to the National Fire Prevention Association website.

“Fireworks are very dangerous and unpredictable,” said Lt. John Watterson of the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office.

They are also illegal to use or own in the state — except for licensed professionals. Charges range from a violation for possession or use of fireworks valued at under $50 to a felony if a person has been convicted of a fireworks violation during the past five years, and offers, sells or furnishes fireworks to a person under 18, according to the state penal code.

“There have been numerous cases throughout the years of people hurting themselves with fireworks — blowing off a finger or hurting themselves or other people in their vicinity,” Watterson said.

They can also start a fire. According to the National Fire Prevention Association, more fires are reported on the Fourth of July in a typical year than on any other day, and fireworks account for more than half of those fires.

“A lot of lower-grade fireworks don’t go up very high, so when the remnants come down, they have the potential to start a fire,” Watterson said. “When you light one, you never really know where they’re going.”

Watterson said the Sheriff’s Office usually receives numerous calls and complaints about fireworks around the Fourth of July.

“Attending public fireworks displays is the safest way to celebrate the Fourth of July,” said Thomas J. Cuff Jr., president of the Fireman’s Association of the State of New York, in a press release.

That’s just what Theresa White, 31, of Clinton Corners plans to do.

White and her daughter, Jenna Geib, 8, said they plan to see the fireworks at Waryas Park on Sunday.

White, a former City of Poughkeepsie resident, said before the fireworks came back to the city in 2009, the family used to drive up to Kingston to watch the display.

“It’s a lot easier to just come down here,” she said.

Bridget Romani, emergency room nurse manager at Saint Francis Hospital in the Town of Poughkeepsie, said she has seen more injuries from gas grills than fireworks.

“I think people have gotten smarter” about fireworks, she said.

“Gas grills are definitely a big problem,” she said. “People let the gas trap in there, and then light it — it goes right at you.”

Some patients have had eyebrows and hair singed; others have suffered worse injuries.

“It can affect their breathing,” Romani said.

Grills should be used a safe distance from the house. If a fire does start, call 911 immediately.

“Most people underestimate how fast a fire goes. They think they can put it out themselves, so they delay calling 911,” said Capt. Bill Steenbergh of the Arlington Fire District.

“We don’t complain about coming out if people think they have a problem,” he said, adding firefighters would rather go out sooner than later, when the whole house is engulfed in flames.

Though small sparklers are legal in the state, they can also be dangerous. According to the National Fire Prevention Association, the tip of a sparkler burns at a temperature of about 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit .

Romani said she has seen children come into the hospital with injuries from sparklers.

“The sparks can come off and go right into their shirts and burn them, and their shirt can catch on fire,” she said.

Above all, avoid drinking and driving.

Leandra’s Law, a state law signed in November, makes it a felony to drive with a blood-alcohol content greater than 0.08 percent with a child younger than 15 in the car.

State police, the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies will step up road patrols this weekend.

“There are more parties, more social gatherings, more events where people tend to drink,” Watterson said. “We’ll be fully prepared to combat the intoxicated drivers out on the roadway.”

He said because Independence Day falls on a weekend, it is likely even more people will be out than when the holiday occurs midweek.

“Most people are off from work and are more apt to go to parties,” he said.

To beat the traffic, Hyde Park resident Andrea Trochez, 22, said she plans to drive from Queens to Morris County, N.J., early Sunday morning.

“That should take care of the traffic,” she said.

More than 92 million vehicles traveled on the New York State Thruway system during the Fourth of July weekend (Thursday through Sunday) in 2009, according to a state Thruway Authority release.

Drivers should plan ahead, wear seat belts, hang up cell phones and allow extra time for travel, police said.

“The July Fourth holiday marks warmer weather and heavy travel periods. Troop T constantly monitors traffic to ensure that every motorist has a safe journey,” said Maj. Robert C. Meyers of state police Troop T in a release.

The Sheriff’s Office also patrols the Hudson River in warm weather.

“Our primary objective is to make sure the boaters are safe,” said Sgt. Shawn Castano of the Sheriff’s Office. “We check to make sure they’re not operating the boat under the influence of alcohol or drugs.”

Castano said he expected a large number of boats on the river, as people come out to watch the fireworks displays.

He said that during the City of Poughkeepsie fireworks display Sunday night, there will be a 360-yard safety zone around the fireworks barge. Sheriff’s Office boats will enforce that safety zone, he said.

Additional Facts

TOWN OF PAWLING—A family dispute led to the arrest of a 32-year-old man on Wednesday, after he violated the terms of a restraining order.

State Police said the man’s father filed a restraining order against him on Tuesday. A day later, he entered [...]]]>

June 30, 2010

Pawling man arrested for violating restraining order

TOWN OF PAWLING—A family dispute led to the arrest of a 32-year-old man on Wednesday, after he violated the terms of a restraining order.

State Police said the man’s father filed a restraining order against him on Tuesday. A day later, he entered a family-owned store in Pawling where his father was working and took $100 from the cash register.

The man was arrested and charged with second degree criminal contempt and petit larceny.

BROOKFIELD — A police officer conducting a DUI spot check at 1087 Federal Road arrested a driver on multiple drug charges Saturday morning, police said.

Joshua Norton, 29, of Coulter Avenue, Pawling, N.Y., was charged with three counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, illegal manufacture, distribution, [...]]]>

Published: 09:15 a.m., Tuesday, June 1, 2010

From New Times

Drunken-driving programs try to scare teens straight Larry Hertz Poughkeepsie Journal

As dusk fell over Pawling on July 27, 19-year-old Shane Smith was cruising down Route 55 on his motorcycle after a long day of work at a local landscaping company.

Without warning, a car driven by a young man who had been drinking alcohol and using [...]]]> May 30, 2010

Drunken-driving programs try to scare teens straight

Larry Hertz
Poughkeepsie Journal

As dusk fell over Pawling on July 27, 19-year-old Shane Smith was cruising down Route 55 on his motorcycle after a long day of work at a local landscaping company.

Without warning, a car driven by a young man who had been drinking alcohol and using heroin drifted across the double yellow line of the highway, slamming head-on into Smith and his bike.

About an hour later, Smith was pronounced dead at Saint Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie, and the driver of the car, 21-year-old Keith Johnson, was in police custody.

Last month, a judge sentenced Johnson to prison for up to 10 years as more than 60 friends and relatives of the victim and the defendant watched from the gallery of the fourth-floor courtroom of the Dutchess County Courthouse.

Members of Smith’s family said they were gratified to see Johnson go to prison, but they said the pain of losing a loved one had not subsided.

“There will always be an empty chair at the table on Thanksgiving,” said Shane’s father, Larry Smith.

In schools, through social organizations, online and on TV, young people are often warned about the dangers of drinking and driving. They are taught, sometimes though stark images or heart-breaking stories of loss, what could happen if they get behind the wheel of a car after drinking. In the past month, some local schools had re-enactments of alcohol-related crashes as prom season approached.

Despite the education efforts, drivers 21 and younger continue to be arrested for drug- and alcohol-related driving offenses in disproportionate numbers.

According to statistics compiled by the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office, about 6 percent of all drivers in Dutchess County are 21 or younger, but they accounted for more than 11 percent of 5,781 motorists arrested in Dutchess County in connection with such offenses between Jan. 1, 2007, and March 31, 2010.

The number of young drivers arrested on alcohol-related traffic charges dropped from 252 in 2007 to 175 in 2008 and remained level in 2009. But in the first three months of this year, there were 47 such arrests, on pace for 188 such arrests for the year.

Between 2004 and 2008, 280 people in the mid- and lower Hudson Valley died in alcohol-related traffic crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Of those, 45 were killed in Dutchess County. Only Westchester and Orange counties had more fatalities.

“I don’t know why people say time heals,” Shane Smith’s grandmother, Marilyn Smith, said last week. “I don’t feel any better today than I did the day Shane died.”

Jessica Segal, the assistant district attorney who prosecuted Johnson, said such tragedies had become too familiar to her. Segal has seen nine defendants go to prison for drunken-driving deaths since she began prosecuting such crimes in 2005. Less than eight months before Smith was killed, 18-year-old Anthony Balzano-Schoen of Fishkill was sentenced to prison for killing 86-year-old George Chambers in an alcohol-related crash on Route 82 in Hopewell Junction.

“Nobody decides to go out one night and kill somebody with their car. It’s not an intentional crime,” she said. “But it has the same devastating effect on a victim’s family as a murder.”

Lessons for teens

Schools and several local organizations in Dutchess County are working with the District Attorney’s Office and the courts to try to curb the number of drunken-driving deaths.

Local judges routinely require defendants convicted of alcohol-related crimes to attend a session of the Victim Impact Panel, run by the Council on Addiction Prevention and Education of Dutchess County. The panel is composed of family members of victims of drunken-driving crashes who relate how such tragedies have affected them. Offenders younger than 21 are required to attend an hourlong session on the dangers of alcohol before they hear the speeches from the victims’ families.

Krista Wind, an education specialist at the council, said she hoped the additional information provided to the youths would encourage them to have a plan in place if they had no safe ride home.

Wind said research has shown the human brain is not fully developed until the age of 25, and the last portion of the brain to complete its development is the frontal lobe, which controls judgment.

“Add alcohol, which also impairs judgment, to that equation, and it’s not surprising” that teens are arrested for driving while intoxicated in greater proportions than older drivers, she said.

Wind delivers this message at teen Victim Impact Panel sessions.

Hopewell Junction resident Laurie Karagas — whose 19-year-old daughter, Francine, was killed by a drunken driver Nov. 18, 2005 — said every speech she delivers at victim impact panels and at school forums is painful. But she said she ignores the pain because she believes her message is important.

“I do it because people aren’t taking drunk driving seriously enough,” Karagas said this month after delivering a speech to Arlington High School juniors. “Francine’s story needs to be told.”

Peer groups

Elaine Trumpetto, executive director of the Council on Addiction Prevention and Education, said her organization works closely with students at most Dutchess County high schools through their chapters of Students Against Destructive Decisions.

“SADD chapters are an integral part of our community education program,” Trumpetto said. “I think we’re starting to see students and others in the community buy into the idea that these problems aren’t going away by themselves and more of us have to get involved.”

She said a coalition of school officials, parents, students, and business and civic leaders had been formed recently in eastern Dutchess County to address drug and alcohol issues among young people. The coalition recently surveyed students at Red Hook, Rhinebeck, Pine Plains, Webutuck, Dover and Pawling high schools and will analyze the data from the survey in the next several weeks. A similar coalition is being formed in southern Dutchess, Trumpetto said.

“We’re putting the message (about the dangers of drugs and alcohol) out there, but we have to ask how we might tweak that message to make it more effective,” she said.

John Jay High School freshman Gabriella Gurliacci said she joined her school’s SADD chapter last fall. Six months later, her best friend’s sister was killed in an alcohol-related crash in Fishkill.

“That brought the message home fast,” Gurliacci said. “I went to my friend’s house the day after the accident. That was horrible. That’s something you never want to experience . It makes you stop and think.”

Gurliacci recently took part in a Grim Reaper Day event at the school. Wearing signs carrying names of victims of alcohol-related crashes, she and other SADD members walked into classrooms in the school every 45 minutes, the average amount of time between fatal DWI crashes in the United States.

The president of Arlington High School’s SADD chapter, senior Elizabeth Raefryer, said she was proud of the events she and her classmates had organized to promote awareness of the dangers of drunken driving, including a Grim Reaper Day and a simulated DWI-crash, complete with an accident-damaged car and simulated rescue by local police, firefighters and paramedics.

Despite her chapter’s efforts to raise awareness, Raefryer said not everyone was heeding the message.

“I have friends who have been affected (by DWI crashes) and want to do what I can to bring more awareness,” Raefryer said. “But I’ve seen kids come to school drunk or high, and they think it’s a joke. It’s not funny.”

Jo Johnson, the president of Dutchess County’s chapter of the national organization Remove Intoxicated Drivers, applauded the work of local SADD chapters but said more must be done to raise students’ awareness of the dangers of drugs and alcohol before they get to high school.

“It has to start at home, and it has to begin in the schools when the kids are younger,” said Johnson, a Town of Wappinger resident who was seriously injured by a drunken driver in 1981.

Segal, the assistant district attorney, said she and other prosecutors will continue to speak at school forums until they are convinced that every student gets the message.

“We handle about 1,800 DWI cases a year, and 90 percent of the people we prosecute say they didn’t think they were drunk,” she said of the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office.

Tougher laws

She said prosecutors have more tools to crack down on drunken drivers than they did even a few years ago.

Last year, the state Legislature adopted a law increasing penalties for drivers with previous alcohol-related convictions who are involved in fatal accidents in which drugs or alcohol were a contributing factor. It was under that law that Segal prosecuted Keith Johnson, the man who killed Shane Smith. Last month, County Court Judge Gerald V. Hayes sentenced Johnson to three to 10 years in state prison.

“I do not think it is fair he only received three to 10 years. He knew what he was doing,” said Shane’s aunt, Debbie Esposito.

“Of course, no victim thinks any prison term is enough,” Segal said, “but we’re now able to give these offenders some significant time.”

Johnson’s attorney, D. James O’Neil, said he had represented several clients accused of killing someone in a DWI-related crash. He said it’s never easy to explain to them that they’re probably going to prison even though they never meant to harm anyone.

Before the law was amended last year, O’Neil said, evidentiary standards were higher.

“It used to require a lot more proof to make these cases,” the attorney said. “Now, prosecutors don’t have to prove recklessness, only that the driver was legally drunk at the time of the fatal crash.”

Shane Smith’s brother, Ryan, said he and other members of the family were glad to see Johnson sent to prison for at least three years. But he said he planned to meet with state Sen. Vincent L. Leibell to ask that maximum penalties for such offenses be raised even higher.

“Everything I had to do the week Shane died was hard,” he said. “I had to call my dad in California and tell him Shane was dead. I had to pick out his casket. I had to pick out what clothes he would wear. And when I heard (Johnson) speak at the sentencing, I never heard his voice crack. I never saw any remorse. The penalties have to be harsher.”

Hayes, who could have sentenced Johnson to up to 15 years, said deciding on the proper punishment for such cases is one of the hardest decisions he has to make on the bench.

During Johnson’s sentencing , Hayes said, he had received as many letters from the defendant’s friends and family attesting to his character as he had from the friends and family of the victim.

“There are unfortunately two glaring differences,” Hayes said. “Keith Johnson had a heroin problem; Shane did not. Keith Johnson will one day have the chance to fulfill his potential; Shane Smith will not.”

The judge said he often speaks to high school students who visit his court on field trips. He asks how many of them plan to go to college or law school, and many of them raise their hands. Then he asks how many plan to kill someone on the highway.

“Nobody raises their hand,” he said. “Nobody thinks something like this will ever happen to them. But I see it, every year, in my courtroom.”

Shane Smith’s father, Larry Smith, who moved back to Pawling from California after his son’s death, said last week that he planned to speak regularly at Victim Impact Panel sessions and at local schools.

“It’s something I have to do,” he said. “I can sit at home alone and cry, or I can cry in front of people who need to see me cry.”

Additional Facts

How to help The family of Shane Smith is raising money through the Community Foundation of Dutchess County for two projects in the 19-year-old’s memory. One fund will be used to establish a scholarship for a graduating senior at Anza (Calif.) High School, Smith’s alma mater. The other will benefit drug and alcohol awareness programs in the Pawling Central School District. For more information, call the Community Foundation at 845-452-3077 or visit www.cfdcny.org.

Jon Campbell • Journal Albany bureau • May 29, 2010

ALBANY — As the economy declined in recent years, some crime experts expected the state’s crime rate to increase. But recent statistics show that wasn’t the case.

And as crime has dropped overall, another trend has developed: The majority of [...]]]>

Dutchess crime falls in 2009,
but violent incidents rise

Jon Campbell • Journal Albany bureau • May 29,
2010

ALBANY — As the economy declined in recent years,
some crime experts expected the state’s crime rate
to increase. But recent statistics show that wasn’t the
case.

And as crime has dropped overall, another trend
has developed: The majority of incidents have
shifted from New York City to other areas in the
state.

Violent and property crimes were down in most
counties across the state over the past decade,
according to statistics from the state Division of
Criminal Justice Services.

Meanwhile, in 1990, New York City accounted for 63
percent of crimes in the state. But by last year, the
numbers had nearly flipped — 43 percent of the
crime was in the city, and 58 percent was in the rest
of the state.

Crime experts say the lower rates are due to
bolstered police efforts across the state —
particularly in New York City — and that led to the
shift in crime from the city to the suburbs and
upstate.

“I think that’s attributed mostly to the quality of
criminal justice and the quality of policing, and the
increasing use of some powerful analytic tools that
weren’t able to be used before,” said John Klofas,
chair of criminal justice at the Rochester Institute of
Technology.

Mid-Hudson Valley

From 2008 to 2009, total crime in Dutchess County
fell by nearly 10 percent, but the number of violent
crimes increased by 1.4 percent, according to
statistics from the state Division of Criminal Justice
Services.

In 2008, 6,494 crimes were reported in Dutchess
County. That figure fell to 5,873 crimes reported in
2009, according the crime statistics report.

At the same time, violent crimes — murder, rape,
robbery and assault — rose from 886 crimes in
2008 to 898 in 2009 in Dutchess County.

In Ulster County, the opposite was true.

The number of total crimes rose by 5.9 percent from
3,665 incidents in 2008 to 3,883 in 2009,
according to the crime statistics. But the number of
violent crimes fell by 2.8 percent, from 458 in 2008
to 445 in 2009.

Future crime?

Even still, some worry that a reduction in manpower
for police forces caused by the state’s budget woes w
ill lead to an increase in crime in the near future.

“Small to large to statewide municipalities, including
ourselves, are stuck with no additional manpower
coming in as we lose officers that came onto the job
two or three decades ago [and who] are reaching
their retirement ages,” said Dan Sisto, second vice
president of the New York State Troopers Police
Benevolent Association.

Reach Jon Campbell at Jcampbell.gannett@gmail.
com.

On the Web

For articles on local crimes, go to www.
poughkeepsiejournal.com/crime