FROM: HOLLEY CARNRIGHT
DATE: AUGUST 18, 2015
RE: PRESS RELEASE – PEOPLE V. BRANDON RIFENBURG
On August 17th,
2015, Brandon Rifenburg of Shandaken was sentenced to 1 and 1/3 to 4 years in
state prison after having pleaded guilty to Grand Larceny in the 4th
Degree. He also pleaded guilty to
Unlawfully Fleeing a Police Officer in a Motor Vehicle in the 3rd
Degree and was sentenced to one year in the Ulster County Jail. The sentence represents the maximum amount of
time Mr. Rifenburg could have received under the law for these charges.
Rifenburg was
charged with an incident that occurred on April 15th, 2014. On that date, Rifenburg returned home after
work and began consuming alcohol. When
he tried to leave the house, he and his father got into an argument about
Rifenburg’s ability to drive a vehicle after the consumption of alcohol. Rifenburg left the residence on foot and
walked toward Accord. While in the Town
of Marbletown, the defendant stole a 1999 Ford Explorer from a residential
area. He was driving the vehicle toward
Accord when he was spotted by a deputy sheriff who was patrolling the
area. At the time of his plea, Rifenburg
admitted to panicking and accelerating away from the deputy. This action led to a pursuit through several
jurisdictions within Ulster County involving multiple police agencies. Rifenburg also admitted intentionally striking
the side of police vehicles in an attempt to run them off the road. He continued to flee even after three of his
tires were blown by spike strips until he was driving on rims and lost control
of the vehicle.
Information was
provided to police during the pursuit that Rifenburg may have been armed with a
gun. After Rifenburg crashed the vehicle
into an embankment he was shot by a deputy sheriff while exiting the
vehicle. An Ulster County Grand Jury
subsequently cleared the deputy of any wrongdoing in the discharge of his
service weapon.
The case was
prosecuted by Chief Assistant District Attorney Michael Kavanagh and the
defendant was represented by Anthony Cillis of Jonna Spilbor Law.
