Police News

Mahopac Falls FD personnel assist at the scene of last week’s car fire at the intersection of Route 6N and View Drive in the Mahopac Falls section of the Town of Carmel. ERIC GROSS Elderly Man Strikes Cruiser

An elderly Brewster man who was traveling the wrong way on I-84 east of the Putnam-Fairfield County line is facing charges that could result in the loss of his license following a head-on crash with a Connecticut state trooper.

Troopers at the Southbury barracks identified the Putnam motorist as James Newell, 86.

Police said the bizarre incident took place at 11pm last Thursday, when callers reported a vehicle traveling at a slow rate of speed headed westbound in the eastbound lanes of traffic in Danbury.

Trooper Donald Comstock, who was patrolling near the state line at the time, spotted the vehicle and positioned his cruiser to stop the man’s car while radioing for back-up patrols from both New York and Connecticut State Police.

Troopers from Brewster and East Fishkill responded to assist, but not before Newell slammed into the police cruiser operated by Trooper Comstock on the left shoulder of the road.

Both men were taken to Danbury Hospital where they were treated in the emergency room. Police said Newell was admitted for observation while the trooper was released. Police said both cars were damaged and were towed from the scene.

Newell is facing charges of operating the wrong way on a divided highway and, because of his age, must undergo a driving test before being allowed to get behind the wheel again.

Connecticut DWIs

Two residents of Putnam County face hearings in Connecticut later this month to answer charges of driving while intoxicated.

Bethel Police arrested Michael D’Alessandro, 19, of Carmel, last Friday after police observed a speeding car on Grassy Plain Street. Officers stopped the car on Greenwood Avenue and charged the Carmel man with DWI when he failed a sobriety test. D’Alessandro was released to the custody of a family member after posting $500 bond pending a Nov. 19 court hearing.

Meanwhile police in Brookfield arrested Edward VanTassel, 69, of Brewster, for drunken driving after his car was stopped on Friday afternoon for erratic operation. Police said several callers reported observing a vehicle weaving in and out of traffic at 4:30pm on heavily traveled Federal Road. A patrol observed the vehicle and, after stopping it, placed the Brewster man under arrest. VanTassel was released to the custody of a family member and is due to answer the charges in Brookfield Town Court next week.

Elderly Man Violates Orders

An 88-year-old Mahopac man faces a four-year state prison term for allegedly damaging his wife’s car in violation of a court order of protection. Yorktown Police reported the bizarre incident last week and the arrest of Rudolph Guarracino.

Lt. Richard Malan said Guarracino was charged with felony counts of criminal mischief and first degree criminal contempt of court after detectives investigated the complaint that reportedly occurred on Election Day.:“The suspect allegedly damaged his wife’s car, causing hundreds of dollars in needed repairs, which violated a court order issued by the Yorktown Court prohibiting Mr. Guarracino from having any contact with the woman.”

Police said Guarracino was previously arrested for attempted assault after spiking his wife’s drink last summer while the couple was dining at Charlie Brown’s Steakhouse in Mohegan Lake. The lieutenant said the substance was not poisonous and that the suspect was not trying to kill his wife.

Guarracino was arraigned by Yorktown Justice Peter Gerstenzang and was remanded to the Westchester County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail. The bond was reduced on Friday and Guarracino posted $5,000 bond and was released pending a court hearing scheduled for this Thursday, when a court spokeswoman said both cases would be heard.

District Attorney Adam Levy said both charges were Class E felonies carrying four-year state prison terms if found guilty.

Putnam Residents Arrested

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

Cops charged Thomas Pray, 35, of Patterson, with aggravated unlicensed operation following a dispute in the parking lot at the Jefferson Valley Mall. Sgt. Michael Zaicek said when officers were checking the identifications of the two people involved, a computer check revealed that Pray had been operating his car with a suspended license. The Putnam man was arrested and released without bail pending a Dec. 3 hearing.

Police made four larceny arrests as well. Craig Falgiano, 20, and Anthony Vanlyapural, 20, both of Mahopac, were arrested after allegedly shoplifting $375 worth of merchandise from the Sears store at the JV Mall. The pair was stopped by mall security officers and was held for police. Following processing at police headquarters, the two men were released without bail pending a Dec. 1 hearing.

Police also arrested two juveniles. A 15-year-old girl from Mahopac was charged with criminal possession of stolen property for allegedly finding a wallet at a pet store at the Jefferson Valley Mall and instead of turning it into mall security reportedly keeping the wallet and using its contents. The teen was turned over to the custody of her parents.

Police also arrested an 18-year-old boy from Putnam Valley on charges of larceny after he allegedly shoplifted $257 worth of men’s clothing from Macy’s at the JV Mall before being stopped by store security. The youth posted $100 bail and was released to the custody of his mother pending a Dec. 3 hearing.

Route 312 Speed Limits

Route 312 is one of Putnam’s most heavily traveled roads, and, with large numbers of cars, trucks, and buses traversing the two- lane highway from Route 6 to Route 22, officials have asked the New York State DOT to reduce the speed limit along the winding artery.

Currently vehicles can drive at 55 mph along Route 312, but members of Southeast government recently requested a reduction of the speed limit to 35 mph.

Last week members of the Putnam Legislature agreed that a 55 mph speed limit was too excessive for the road, since it passes the Brewster School campus, the entrance and exit to I-84, as well as the Tilly Foster Farm, along with county facilities and several businesses and dozens of private residences.

Legislature Chairman Tony Hay said the state “must reduce the speed limit along Route 312. Thirty-five mph will help, but knowing human nature, vehicles will continue to speed. We will be asking State Police and our Sheriff’s Department to conduct speed enforcement along the road once the DOT posts the new signs.”

Deputy Chairman Vincent Tamagna agreed: “The farm has become a real tourist attraction and it’s just not safe to travel in excess of 35 mph along Route 312 anymore. We are talking about saving lives. To risk a life or serious injury in order to save two or three minutes is just crazy!”

The state is expected to act on the county’s request in 2010.

Star Athlete Charged in Fatal

DWI

The holidays are approaching, but for a Stormville family they will never be the same.

Hours before the blessed holiday last year, a 23-year-old 2003 graduate of Carmel High School was arraigned on multiple counts of vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated as a result of a tragic crash in Westchester County.

Meghan Wood, who was one of America’s premier high school and college basketball players, was behind the wheel of her SUV on Route 287 in Greenburgh at 4:30am on June 18, 2008, when the vehicle went out of control, drove up an embankment, and overturned, ejecting both Wood and her passenger and long-time friend, Lisa Marie Moray, 22, of Wappingers Falls.

Moray was killed instantly, while Wood was taken to the Westchester Medical Center for treatment of numerous injuries. Wood told police that Moray was driving at the time of the crash but after weeks of investigation District Attorney Janet DiFiore announced that accident reconstruction specialists and state police determined the statement false. It was Wood who lost control of the speeding car and crashed.

Court testimony indicated Wood’s blood alcohol level was .18 percent on that tragic morning, more than twice the legal limit of intoxication, which led authorities to lodge more serious aggravated DWI charges against her.

Last week in Westchester State Supreme Court in White Plains, Wood was sentenced by Judge Lester Adler to from one to three years in state prison for her actions. Had the young woman been convicted at trial of the vehicular manslaughter charge she had faced a 15-year prison term in a maximumsecurity penitentiary.

Judge Adler admonished Wood telling the court: “I could have sentenced you to five years of ‘shock’ probation plus six months in the county jail but you endangered every single person on the road that morning. I hope this sentence acts as a deterrent to others who decide to drive drunk.”

A court clerk said Wood had already begun serving her sentence at the Westchester County Jail last summer and will now be transferred to the Bedford Hills Correctional Center for Women, where she could be eligible for parole next July.

During a visit to Carmel High last week teachers and staff who knew Wood expressed great sadness.

One faculty member called Megan a “super star on the basketball court and a wonderful young woman. She was bright and sharp. What a terrible tragedy! Kids have to learn that they can’t drink and drive.”

Another veteran educator who requested that she also not be identified lashed out at the scourge of alcoholinvolved crashes and DWI arrests in and around Putnam County this year: “2009 has been a year from hell when it comes to drunken drivers. I feel so badly for Meghan, her mom and dad, and siblings, as well as for the family members of Lisa Marie. Tragedies like this one will continue until the courts slam convicted drunks like never before. Knowing that if you are convicted for DWI you will wind up in prison instead of receiving a slap on the wrist and a minimal fine may just be the deterrent needed to end these frequent nightmares.”

Man Deals with Minors

A Brewster man is due in Southeast Town Court on Thursday to answer charges of unlawfully dealing with a child, resisting arrest, and parole violation following an incident that began as a criminal mischief complaint.

According to Station Commander Sgt. Joseph Malorgio, Brewster State Police responded to a residence in Southeast last week, and the homeowner recognized one of the suspects involved in the alleged criminal mischief, providing troopers with the man’s name and address.

Trooper Melissa Pappas and Trooper Mark Buglione went to the suspect’s home and found Ryan Heikkila, 32, highly intoxicated and uncooperative. Sgt. Malorgio said when the troopers entered the residence to question Heikkila they reportedly found two young girls consuming alcohol with the man.

Heikkila was informed that he was being placed under arrest and he reportedly resisted and fought with the troopers as they attempted to handcuff him.

After checking the man’s name in the New York State Police Information Network, the troopers discovered Heikkila had been on parole for a burglary conviction.

The parole was revoked since he allegedly violated its terms and conditions. Heikkila was arraigned by Judge Peter Collins in Kent Town Court and was remanded to the Putnam Correctional Facility in lieu of $50,000 bond pending tonight’s hearing in Southeast.

Sgt. Malorgio said the two teens allegedly drinking with Heikkila were turned over to their parents.

Three Escape Burning Car

Three Mahopac residents escaped their burning vehicle without injury when the sports utility vehicle suddenly ignited while being driven around Lake Mahopac.

Carmel Police and members of the Mahopac Falls Fire Department responded to last week’s blaze at the intersection of Route 6N and View Drive.

Emergency responders found the engine compartment engulfed in flames. Police knocked down the inferno with extinguishers carried in patrol cars, and, when firefighters arrived minutes later, the blaze was fully extinguished.

No one was injured but the vehicle suffered severe damage.

The Putnam 911 Dispatch Center must have thought something was in the air since within the next 45 minutes, three other vehicle fires were reported— one in Mahopac, a second in Brewster, and the third in Putnam Valley.

Two DWIs in Two Days

It’s bad enough being arrested for driving while intoxicated! How about being nabbed, for not only DWI butfor the more serious aggravated DWI, on two separate occasions within 24 hours of each other?

George Nylund, 61, of Mahopac earned that dubious distinction last week when he was first arrested by Carmel Police Officer Stephen Kunze, when, according to Chief Michael Johnson, the officer observed a car crossing pavement markings on East Lake Blvd. in Mahopac. The officer stopped the car at 10:30pm and placed Nylund under arrest for drunken driving, speeding, crossing a double yellow line, possessing an open container of alcohol inside a car, and driving with a blood alcohol level of more than .18 percent or more than twice the legal threshold for DWI. Nylund was processed on the charges and was released to the custody of a family member.

The following night at 10:25pm, Sgt. Michael Nagle observed a vehicle crossing a double yellow line on a blind curve along Route 6 between Mahopac and Carmel. Officer Brian Shea responded to assist and the two veteran cops quickly realized that a highly intoxicated Nylund was behind the wheel. The man was again charged with DWI, aggravated DWI, since his blood alcohol measured in excess of .18 percent as well as speeding, crossing a double yellow line, and improper signaling.

This time Nylund was arraigned by Kent Town Justice Peter Collins and was remanded to the Putnam Correctional Facility in lieu of $7,500 bail pending a Dec. 1 hearing before Carmel Justice Thomas Jacobellis.

District Attorney Adam Levy said the aggravated DWI charge was a Class A misdemeanor carrying a potential year in the county jail if found guilty.

Probation Department

Arrests Three

Residents of Carmel, Patterson, and Brewster face jail time following their arrests by members of the Putnam Probation Department for allegedly violating the terms and conditions of their court ordered probation.

Putnam Probation Director Gene Funicelli identified the trio as Matthew Altschul, 28, of Carmel; Dantae Lampley, 20, of Patterson; and Ashley Karalis, 21, of Brewster.

Altschul was taken into custody last week by Senior Probation Officer Amy Dehais and Putnam County Sheriff’s Investigator Nick DePerno.

Funicelli said Altschul was sentenced in August to five years probation by Putnam County Judge James Reitz following his conviction of first degree criminal contempt of court—a Class E felony that carried a maximum state prison term of up to four years.

Lampley was arrested by Probation Supervisor John Osterhout and Senior Probation Officer Richard McCauley at the request of the New York City Police Department, resulting from a bench warrant issued in Queens Criminal Court.

Funicelli said Lampley was sentenced to five years probation in June 2008 in Queens after being convicted of an attempted robbery charge—a Class D felony carrying a maximum seven-year state prison term.

Karalis was taken into custody by Senior Probation Officer John Mulreany and Probation Officer Michele Perrini. She was sentenced by the Southeast Justice Court to three years probation in August, 2008 following a conviction of larceny—a misdemeanor carrying a maximum period of incarceration of up to one year in the county jail.