Press Release - People v Donald Fairweather

FROM: HOLLEY CARNRIGHT

DATE: DECEMBER 31, 2013

RE: PRESS RELEASE – PEOPLE V DONALD FAIRWEATHER

DONALD A. FAIRWEATHER, JR., (DOB: 9/3/1966), was indicted by an Ulster County Grand Jury in connection with a fatal vehicle collision on State Route 52 in Walker Valley which occurred on September 25, 2013 at approximately 10:40 PM.

FAIRWEATHER, of 7 Cragsmoor Road, Pine Bush, NY, was charged with Vehicular Manslaughter in the First Degree, Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree, Vehicular Assault in the First Degree, Vehicular Assault in the Second Degree, and Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated.  At that time, FAIRWEATHER was driving a Ford Econoline van which crossed over into the opposite lane of travel, killing Vadim Mushtak, the driver of the oncoming vehicle, and seriously injuring Mushtak’s wife.

Press Release - Gerald Babcock Sentencing

FROM:  HOLLEY CARNRIGHT

DATE:  DECEMBER 20, 2013

RE:  PRESS RELEASE – PEOPLE V. GERALD BABCOCK

On December 20th, 2013, Gerald Babcock was sentenced by Ulster County Court Judge Donald A. Williams to 25 years in state prison plus 5 years of post-release supervision after having been found guilty by an Ulster County jury of Manslaughter in the First Degree.

Babcock was arrested on March 11, 2013, as a result of an investigation by the New York State Police into the death of Jamielynn Bleakley.  The investigation began on March 6^th, 2013, when EMTs responded to a 911 call from Gerald Babcock claiming that Ms. Bleakley had just fallen down stairs leading from her home in Denning.  When the first responders arrived, they found Ms. Bleakley lying face down in the snow at the bottom of a small set of steps, covered in a small blanket and sheets of plywood.  She was wearing only sweatpants, sneakers and a t-shirt that was pulled up above her breasts and to her shoulders.   Ms. Bleakley was rushed to the Catskill Regional Medical Center where she was found to have a traumatic brain injury.  She was subsequently transported to Westchester Medical Center where she succumbed to her injuries on March 7^th, 2013.

During the trial, Forensic Pathologist Dr. Michael Baden testified that Ms. Bleakley had multiple contusions on her arms, chest, back and face.  She sustained a fracture of the cartilage in the front of her neck that was consistent with a hand compressions and her cause of death was from subdural hematomas on the left side of her head.  He testified that her death was a homicide and her injuries were inconsistent with falling.

The defense admitted that Babcock had assaulted Bleakley prior to her death, but claimed that her fatal head injury was caused by a slip and fall related to her Multiple Sclerosis.

Babcock has a long criminal history which includes felony convictions in New Jersey for assaulting his pregnant girlfriend with a baseball bat. At the time of his sentencing he had five different orders of protection from five different women.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Michael Kavanagh and Elizabeth Culmone.  Babcock was represented by Public Defender Andrew Kossover.

Press Release - Christopher Saitch Sentencing

FROM: HOLLEY CARNRIGHT

DATE: DECEMBER 16, 2013

RE:  PRESS RELEASE – PEOPLE V CHRISTOPHER SAITCH

Christopher Saitch, age 39,of Ellenville, New York, was sentenced in Ulster County Court by the Honorable Donald A. Williams to seven years in State Prison with fifteen years post release supervision on his conviction to Sexual Abuse in the first degree. Saitch had admitted that he had had sexual contact with a 7 year old victim.

Press Release - People v Vasquez-Cruz

FROM: HOLLEY CARNRIGHT

DATE: DECEMBER 16, 2013

RE: PRESS RELEASE – PEOPLE V FRANCISCO VASQUEZ-CRUZ

Francisco Vasquez-Cruz, (DOB 2/4/1987), of 2 Roosevelt Ave., Poughkeepsie, NY, entered a guilty plea to Vehicular Manslaughter in the First Degree in Ulster County Court today before the Honorable Donald A. Williams.

Vasquez-Cruz was arrested by members of the Town of Lloyd Police Department on May 2, 2013, after Vasquez-Cruz’s Chevy Trailblazer collided head-on into a motorcycle driven by Fernando Diaz, Jr., 41, of Newburgh, N.Y. Investigation revealed that Vasquez-Cruz had been drinking at a bar in Newburgh and was driving north on Route 9W with no headlights on at approximately 10:30 PM towards the Mid-Hudson Bridge ramp when the impact occurred. Collision reconstruction performed by the New York State Police revealed that the impact occurred in the lane of travel occupied by the motorcycle. 

Blood test results revealed that Vasquez-Cruz had a blood alcohol content of .25 at the time of the accident.

Vasquez-Cruz will be sentenced in February, 2014. The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Gerard Van Loan and Vasquez-Cruz was represented by Maria Tobia.

Press Release - People v Pimentel, Guerrero, Abreau and Castillo-Ortiz

FROM:   HOLLEY CARNRIGHT

        ULSTER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY

DATE:   December 12, 2013

SUBJECT: PRESS RELEASE

The Grand Jury has indicted Juan Colon, of the Bronx, NY, Francisco Pimentel, of Port St. Lucie, FL,  Jose Guerrero, of the Bronx, NY, Jesus Abreau, of the Bronx, NY, and Carlos Castillo-Ortiz, of the Bronx, NY, of three counts of the felony of Prohibition of Animal Fighting and one count of misdemeanor Prohibition of Animal Fighting in violation of New York Agriculture and Markets Law.  The charges stem from an investigation conducted on Krystal Lane in the Town of Plattekill, on June 19, 2013, by the Ulster County Sheriff’s Department, with assistance from the Town of Plattekill Police Department, New York State Police, and Ulster County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.  The investigation uncovered the presence of approximately two hundred chickens, the majority of which were male roosters in various stages of being trained and physically modified to encourage fighting.  The above named defendants are charged with training roosters to engage in animal fighting.  They are also charged with causing roosters to fight, breeding chickens for the purposes of animal fighting, and possessing animal fighting paraphernalia.