Police News

Fire and EMS providers assist a victim of Friday’s crash on Route 22 in Patterson caused by a Dutchess County man who fell asleep at the wheel while returning home from a World Series game at Yankee Stadium. Dangerous World Series

A Dutchess County family learned the hard way that attending a World Series game at Yankee Stadium can be dangerous to your health.

The Putnam County Sheriff’s Department investigated a serious personal injury crash early Friday on Route 22 in Patterson when, according to Captain William McNamara, a Honda Pilot SUV headed northbound went out of control at 2:30am in the vicinity of the Watchtower Bible Society property and drove off the road before overturning several times and landing right side up.

Police said the driver, Scott Haywood of Dover Plains, fell asleep at the wheel moments before the vehicle crashed. Haywood, his wife, Janice, and the couple’s six-monthold son, Alex, who was riding in a child safety seat in the rear of the car, were injured. They were all taken to Danbury Hospital by ambulances with what the captain described as “non-life-threatening injuries.”

Haywood told investigating deputies the family was returning from Yankee Stadium after witnessing the Bronx Bombers defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in the second game of the fall classic.

Members of the Patterson Fire Department under the command of Chief Frank Smith assisted police while the Patterson FD Fire Police Team supervised by Lt. John Bodor aided with traffic control.

Putnam Women Face Charges

Two residents of Putnam County face hearings in Yorktown Town Court next week following their arrests by Yorktown Police.

Cops arrested Maryann Cherubino, 62, of Carmel, on a charge of larceny for allegedly stealing a prescription form while under the care of physicians at the Westchester Medical Association in Yorktown Heights.

Sgt. Michael Zaicek said an employee of the medical practice reported the theft of the blank prescription form in August: “Our investigation determined the theft occurred between October 2007 and April 2008.”

Cherubino was contacted last week and voluntarily appeared at police headquarters, where she was taken into custody. The Carmel woman was released without bail pending arraignment Nov. 12.

Meanwhile a Lake Peekskill woman was charged with aggravated harassment after she allegedly called a woman in Yorktown and verbally threatened her, resulting in what Sgt. James Delullio described as “annoyance and alarm.”

Jennifer Negron, 23, was also contacted by police and voluntarily appeared at police headquarters, where she was taken into custody. Negron was arraigned in Yorktown Court and was released without bail pending next week’s hearing.

District Attorney Adam Levy said both charges were Class A misdemeanors carrying potential year long jail terms at a county penitentiary and/or fines not to exceed $1,000.

PHC Fire

A fire in a Putnam Hospital Center laboratory sent Carmel firefighters into action.

Last Thursday afternoon’s blaze was located in a pneumatic tube system and, according to Carmel Assistant Chief Robert Lipton, a “circuit board burned inside the unit that sent a large quantity of smoke throughout the first-floor lab.”

The chief said the laboratory was safely evacuated and none of the patients at the hospital on Stoneleigh Avenue was affected: “Hospital security called 911 reporting a structure fire, and at the same time the hospital’s alarm system became activated due to the smoke, which also sounded an alarm.”

Fire crews arrived within minutes and assessed the situation before canceling alarms for mutual aid companies, which is common practice whenever a confirmed fire is reported at Putnam’s only medical center.

Carmel Police also assisted at the scene along with Putnam Deputy Emergency Coordinator James Ciulla, Carmel Chief Mark Earle and First Assistant Chief Patrick O’Brien, and a representative of the Putnam Bureau of Emergency Services.

No injuries were reported and there was no structural damage to the hospital.

Pharmacy Robbery

A Kent man will be calling the New York State prison system home for the next five years after pleading guilty to charges of attempted robbery in Putnam County Court.

David Both, 50, was sentenced by Judge James Reitz last week after copping a guilty plea to pointing a loaded shotgun at a clerk at the Rite-Aid Pharmacy at the Shop Rite Plaza in Carmel in March 2008 demanding money and drugs.

Chief Assistant District Attorney Christopher York told the Courier the “people had allowed him to plead guilty on the condition that he received an eight-year sentence.” Judge Reitz, who called the case “one of my most difficult,” felt eight years of incarceration was excessive and sent Both to prison for five years followed by five years probation. Both was credited with the time spent at the Putnam Correctional Facility since his arrest 20 months ago.

York said while no one was physically injured as a result of the attempted heist, “employees suffered great mental anguish. That is why the people felt it critical that the court hear from the victims in the case. Their lives will be affected for the remainder of their lives due to Mr. Both’s actions.”

Ashley Permijo, a 22-year-old residing in Carmel, suffered what was described as post-traumatic stress as a result of the incident.

Both pointed the shotgun at the young woman before pharmacist Mark Gallagher, fearing the gunman would shoot someone, reached across the pharmacy counter and grabbed the weapon, smacking the perpetrator in the forehead and ending the heist.

Gallagher also told the court that the stress from that day led to marriage problems between his wife and himself.

Both apologized to the two drug store employees telling them: “I am very sorry for your pain and anguish.”

Judge Reitz also fined Both $1,500, which a court clerk said would come from wages the prisoner earned at the county jail for the past year and a half.

Mother/Daughter Injured

Two Patterson women are recovering from injuries incurred this week in a three-vehicle crash in downtown Danbury.

Danbury Police said the mishap occurred at 6pm last Wednesday when a southbound Toyota driven by a Danbury woman crossed into the oncoming lane of traffic at a high rate of speed on rain-slicked Padanaram Road. The Toyota sideswiped an Audi sports car operated by a woman from New Fairfield before sliding sideways into the path of a Jeep driven by Lindsay Sigman, 32, of Patterson. Also riding in the SUV was Sigman’s mother, 53-yearold Carla Verdlinger, said police.

The two Putnam residents, along with three occupants of the first car and the New Fairfield woman were all taken by ambulances to Danbury Hospital with what a police spokesman described as “serious, but not life-threatening” injuries.

Police arrested the driver of the Toyota, Jaime Guaman, 22, of Danbury, on charges of speeding, driving without a license, driving without insurance, and failure to drive in the proper lane.

The charges are all violations in Connecticut carrying fines and possible 10-day jail terms if found guilty.

Knife Attack

A 17-year-old Southeast youth is facing a period of incarceration in state prison for allegedly attacking a 19-year-old Patterson man with a knife.

Sheriff Donald Smith announced the arrest last week of Ryan Fitzsimmons in connection with the reported incident that occurred outside a Southeast residence following a house party.

The sheriff said an argument between the two young men escalated and Fitzsimmons allegedly slashed the victim across the face and hands with the knife, resulting in Putnam Hospital Center Emergency Room physicians requiring 17 stitches to close the victim’s wounds.

Investigator Robert Ferris conducted the inquiry for the Sheriff’s Department, which resulted in the arrest of Fitzsimmons on felony charges of assault. The youth was arraigned by Southeast Judge Gregory Folchetti and was released to the custody of his parents pending future court action.

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

Police did not identify the victim other than to report he resides in the Town of Patterson.

Back-to-Back DWIs

For the second consecutive week, Carmel Police made back-toback arrests for DWI in Mahopac.

Officer Thomas Johanson apprehended the first alleged drunk after investigating a property damage crash on Croton Falls Road at 1:50am

Chief Michael Johnson said Thomas Miele, 19, of Mahopac was arrested for DWI, operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol level in excess of .08 percent, and speeding.

Miele was processed at police headquarters and was released to the custody of a family member pending a Nov. 30 court hearing.

Moments later, Officer Stephen Kunze was dispatched to Route 118 at the Putnam-Westchester line for a report of a car being driven erratically. Chief Johnson said the officer found a car matching the description of the vehicle being sought in a parking lot of a business on Route 118, and, as he approached, the driver reportedly put his vehicle into reverse, nearly slamming into the police cruiser. The chief said the operator of the car then pulled forward and struck a parked car, causing extensive damage.

Angel Chapa, 25, of Baldwin Place, was arrested with both DWI and aggravated DWI since police said his blood alcohol level exceeded .18 percent, or more than twice the legal limit for intoxication. He was also charged with being an unlicensed driver.

Chapa was arraigned by Patterson Town Judge John King and was remanded to the Putnam Correctional Facility in lieu of $1,500 bail pending a hearing next week in Carmel Town Court.

Heroin Stick Causes Death

A New Jersey man charged with reckless manslaughter after allegedly injecting his friend with heroin is back in the Garden State today to answer the charges after being arrested in Garrison.

The Putnam County Sheriff’s Department nabbed Peter Treitler, 23, of Woodcliff Lake, at an undisclosed location in the quiet western Putnam community last Thursday.

Treitler and a female companion, Emily Strife, 22, of Old Tappan, NJ, were accused of causing the death of David Misley, 22, of Park Ridge, NJ, in February.

Bergen County prosecutor John Molinelli told the Courier in a telephone interview that Strife and Treitler “panicked and dumped Misley’s body after he lost consciousness when Treitler injected him with the illegal drug. Misley’s body was discovered two hours later in the road on a day when temperatures were in the mid-teens. He was taken to a hospital and was pronounced dead.”

Molinelli said a “renewed investigative effort” led to the arrests of the young couple, since “police initially believed that Misley died of a selfinflicted accidental drug overdose.”

Molinelli declined to divulge the new evidence that led to the arrests saying only: “The three were longtime friends who had used drugs together in the past. The suspects took steps to throw investigators off track by erasing the contents of Misley’s cell phone and by giving police false alibis when questioned in the early stages of the investigation.”

Molinelli said police received a break in the case when they learned Treitler was undergoing treatment in Putnam County.

After being picked up by Sheriff’s Department personnel, Treitler waived his right to fight extradition and was returned to the Garden State, where he and Strife were both formally charged with reckless manslaughter, hindering apprehension, and strict liability for a drug-induced death.”

The couple was arraigned in Hackensack last Friday and was remanded to jail on $1 million bail each.