Police News

Emergency responders assist the victims of Friday’s crash in Carmel that closed a section of Route 6 at mid day. Drugs and DWI

A Putnam Valley woman originally charged with drunken driving faces more serious felony drug possession charges following her arrest by Somers State Police.

Troopers stopped a car on Route 118 near the Somers-Yorktown line last week for a traffic infraction, and after arresting Susan Jazik, 49, for DWI, troopers reportedly found a quantity of cocaine and marijuana inside the car.

Additional charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana were lodged.

Jazik was arraigned in Somers Town Court and was remanded to the Westchester County Jail on $10,000 bail pending future court action.

The felony drug possession charge is a Class E felony carrying a maximum period of incarceration of up to four years in state prison if found guilty.

Thief Faces State Prison

A 23-year-old Lake Carmel man is facing 15 years in state prison for allegedly stealing a quantity of jewelry from a Kent residence last summer. Kent Police arrested Mark Guido last week following a four-month-long investigation.

Lt. Alex DiVernieri said police received a complaint on July 5 reporting $5,400 worth of jewelry had been stolen from the victim’s home.

Detectives Gerald Locascio and Kevin Owens were assigned the case and, after weeks of interviews, a tip led them to a pawn shop in the Bronx, where some of the victim’s precious jewels were recovered.

Guido was brought in for questioning and was arrested on the felony charge. He was arraigned by Justice Peter Collins and was remanded to the Putnam Correctional Facility in lieu of $15,000 bail pending future court action.

District Attorney Adam Levy said the charge was a Class C felony carrying a maximum 15 year state prison term if found guilty.

More DWIs

The crackdown on drunken drivers continues throughout the region, with numerous arrests reported in recent days.

State Police arrested a Stormville man after he reportedly pulled onto the shoulder of I-684 and urinated onto the highway. Troopers were patrolling at the time and observed a vehicle driven by Robert Czyzak, 24, pull onto the side of the road. The troopers reportedly observed the motorist exit his car and begin to urinate. They approached Czyzak and determined he was highly intoxicated. He was taken into custody on charges of DWI as well as for driving a vehicle with a blood alcohol level of .17 percent or more than twice the legal limit for intoxication.

The Stormville man was arraigned on the charges and released to the custody of a family member pending a hearing next week in Southeast Town Court.

A number of Putnam residents were also arrested by State Police in northern Westchester.

Adam Meth, 19, of Brewster, was taken into custody in Cortlandt Manor. Ronald Greene, 44, of Lake Peekskill, was arrested on the Taconic State Parkway in Mt. Pleasant.

Troopers charged Gail Fox, 50, of Brewster, with DWI after stopping her car in Bedford Village.

Two Mahopac men were also arrested for DWI. Robert Mastropole, 45, was arrested on Route 118 in Somers, while Stephen Cerbino, 25, was arrested after being involved in a property damage crash on the Sprain Brook Parkway in Greenburgh.

Troopers also arrested Scott Fitzgerald, 42, of Kent, after he was involved in a personal injury crash on the New York State Thruway in Tarrytown.

License Violations

Carmel Police are scratching their heads this week and asking themselves: “Is anyone driving legally anymore?”

Police arrested numerous motorists in recent days for operating vehicles with suspended licenses and/or suspended registrations during routine traffic checks.

Officer Brian Shay charged Michael Nappi, 34, of Mohegan Lake, with aggravated unlicensed operation after stopping his speeding car on Croton Falls Road in Mahopac.

Officer Shay also arrested Lamur Hoxha, 19, of Mahopac, on charges of aggravated unlicensed operation after conducting a traffic stop on Route 6 at Route 118 in Baldwin Place when the driver failed to use his turn signals while making a turn.

The patrolman made a third arrest after stopping a speeding car on Route 6 at Meadowlark Lane in Carmel. A check of the operator’s license revealed that Vladimir Rusnak, 35, of Mahopac, was not only operating with a revoked license but with a suspended registration—unregistered and uninsured.

Officer Thomas Johanson stopped a speeding car on Route 6N in Mahopac and a computer check revealed the driver, David Holliday, 30, of Poughkeepsie, had four active suspensions on his license.

Officer Douglas Romeo investigated a property damage crash on Route 6 in Carmel. A check with the New York State DMV database revealed the driver, Nikeeta Shah, 43, of Mt. Kisco, was driving with a suspended license.

Officer Stephen Kunze was on patrol in the hamlet of Carmel when he came upon a vehicle stopped at the intersection of Seminary Hill Road and Church Street. A computer check revealed the driver, Barrington Haughton, 20, of East Fishkill, was an unlicensed driver. He was arrested for aggravated unlicensed operation.

Officer Kunze also arrested Gina Edwards, 25, of Stormville, on charges of aggravated unlicensed operation after stopping her car—which was being operated with broken taillights—on Route 6 at Crane Road in Mahopac.

Officer James Terrazas made two arrests in the latest crackdown. He charged Yvonne Gordon, 56, of Carmel, with operating a vehicle with a suspended registration after stopping the woman’s car on Route 6 in Carmel.

Police Chief Michael Johnson said a short time later, Officer Terrazas stopped another car on Route 6 and arrested its driver, Mildred Pernell-Salgado, 51, of Brewster, on charges of aggravated unlicensed operation as well as operating a vehicle with a suspended registration and criminal impersonation.

The chief said the latter charge resulted when the driver initially advised the officer that she was a different person.

Pernell-Salgado posted $150 bail and was released pending a Nov. 17 court hearing. The others were released without bail pending future hearings in Carmel Town Court before Judges Thomas Jacobellis and Joseph Spofford.

Larceny for Three

Following their arrests by Yorktown Police, two residents of Mahopac and a Patterson woman are scheduled to appear in Yorktown Town Court next month.

Cops charged Marta Figueroa, 32, and Johnnie Thomas, 36, both of Mahopac, with larceny last week for allegedly shoplifting merchandise from the Sears store at the Jefferson Valley Mall.

Lt. Richard Malan said Figueroa was arrested after attempting to leave the store without paying for a pair of jeans valued at $54 while Thomas was stopped by store security for reportedly fleeing the store with assorted merchandise valued at $60.

Both were arraigned in Yorktown Town Court before Justice James Gilbert. Figueroa was released after posting $100 bail while Thomas was remanded to the Westchester County Jail on $5,000 bail.

Police also arrested Gail Pettinger, 54, of Patterson, on charges of operating a vehicle with a suspended registration. Lt. Malan said the woman’s car was stopped on Route 6 at the entrance to the Taconic State Parkway last week at 9am when the department’s license plate reader indicated the vehicle being driven contained a suspended registration.

A computer check confirmed the suspension and Pettinger was arrested. She was processed at police headquarters and was released without bail pending a Nov. 5 hearing.

DWI Driver Gets Slap on Wrist

For the second time this month, a defendant appearing in Dutchess County Court received a slap on the wrist for pleading guilty to felony DWI.

Timothy Myrden, 50, of Pawling, copped his guilty plea last Thursday before Judge Gerald Hayes, admitting that he was intoxicated while operating his car on New Year’s Eve on Route 22 north of the Putnam-Dutchess line.

State Police arrested the man and charged him with a felony, since this was Myrden’s second DWI arrest within the past 10 years.

In exchange for his guilty plea, Myrden was sentenced to “no more than six months” at the Dutchess County Jail plus probation. Had he been convicted of the felony DWI offense, the Pawling man would have faced a maximum four-year state prison term.

Three weeks ago another resident of Pawling charged with felony DWI for his third drunken driving arrest in the past 10 years copped a guilty plea to a lesser charge and was also sentenced to probation and a short period of incarceration at the county jail in Poughkeepsie.

Drug Dealing

Three Westchester residents are facing lengthy state prison terms following their arrests in Putnam County for drug dealing.

The Putnam County Sheriff’s Department announced the arrests last Friday of Eric Headen, 41 of Mt. Vernon, Norman Smith, 29 of Peekskill, and Kadeejai Frye, 29, also of Peekskill.

Sheriff Donald Smith said members of the Countywide Narcotics Enforcement Unit investigated the case with detectives from the Peekskill Police Department for the past three months before getting the break needed when quantities of cocaine were allegedly sold to undercover cops by the suspects.

Headen and Frye were picked up in a residential neighborhood along Seminary Hill Road in Carmel, while Smith was nabbed in the parking lot of the Jefferson Valley Mall.

Headen and Smith were charged with multiple counts of criminal sale and criminal possession of controlled substances while Frye was arrested on one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Each was arraigned by Carmel Town Justice Joseph Spofford and was remanded to the Putnam Correctional Facility on bail ranging from $50,000 to $2,500.

A spokesman at the correctional facility told the COURIeR last weekend that bail had been posted for all three suspects, who were released pending court hearings next Monday.

District Attorney Adam Levy said the charges were Class B felonies carrying maximum state prison terms of up to 25 years if found guilty.

Carmel Collision

A section of Route 6 in Carmel between Old Route 6 and Stoneleigh Avenue was closed to traffic Friday when two vehicles collided in front of the Putnam Plaza, resulting in injury to three local residents.

Carmel Police investigated the 11:15am crash when, according to Police Chief Michael Johnson a car driven by Christine Walsh, 20, of Carmel, was exiting the A&P Shopping Center and, as she attempted to make a left handturn, was struck by an oncoming van operated by Raymond Ruiz, 36, also of Carmel. Ruiz’s 15-month old son, Niko, went into shock after the crash and initially became unresponsive.

Police requested an “immediate EMS response.” Members of the Carmel Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Mahopac Fire Department Rescue Squad and paramedics from the Trans Care Ambulance Company rushed to the scene along with members of the Carmel Fire Department under the command of Assistant Chief Robert Lipton.

The toddler quickly came around and was taken to Putnam Hospital Center with his father where they were checked out in the emergency room.

Walsh, who was pinned in her car and was extricated with the Jaws of Life, was also taken to the hospital’s emergency room for what officials described as “non-life threatening” injuries.

Carmel officers who were assisted by members of the Carmel Fire Police unit closed the busy thoroughfare for 45 minutes until the injured were cared for and the damaged vehicles removed.

Police issued no summons.

Also assisting at the scene was Putnam Deputy Commissioner of Emergency Services Adam Stiebeling and a representative of the Putnam Bureau of Emergency Services.

Grisly Discovery Made Along

Putnam Bike Trail in Carmel

The body of a man found in a heavily wooded area adjacent to the Putnam Bike Trail in Carmel is being investigated this week by Carmel Police.

The victim was found Sunday afternoon in a stream bed south of the Willow Road intersection and 200 yards from the bike path that is used by scores of people each weekend.

The body was decomposed, indicating it had been in the water for some time.

On Monday, Lt. Brian Karst identified the victim as Guillermo DeJesus, 64, of the Bronx. The police official said an investigation determined DeJesus had been a patient at Arms Acres—an alcoholic and drug treatment facility on Seminary Hill Road in Carmel that is located about a mile from where the body was found. Police determined DeJesus was reported missing earlier this month after a family member contacted police to report his leaving the treatment program.

An autopsy was performed Monday night at Putnam Hospital Center. Authorities said while the death did not appear to be suspicious, the exact cause of death awaits the results of toxicological testing.