DISTRICT ATTORNEY
D. HOLLEY CARNRIGHT ANNOUNCES: TWO
ELLENVILLE MEN ENTER GUILTY PLEAS IN REGARDS TO HOME INVASION CASE
Lonnie Taylor, age 35, and Nickolas Torres, age 22,
both pled guilty Thursday, July 7, 2016 in Ulster County Court before the Hon.
Donald Williams to Burglary in the First Degree, a class B violent felony.
The case arose from an incident which took place on
January 7, 2016, when Taylor, Torres, and a third co-defendant, Davonte Jones,
armed with a shotgun and two handguns entered Torres’s ex-girlfriend’s apartment.
In addition to the guns, defendants also brought duct tape and zip ties. The
victim was at home with another adult, babysitting four children. A ten year old
and his two younger twin sisters, as well as a two year old were all at the
apartment. The defendants demanded money and drugs when they walked into the
apartment. The defendants then ziptied the wrists and duct-taped the mouths of
each victim, except the two year old girl.
The defendants took the victims cellphones, cash and
wallet. The adult male jumped out of a
window when the defendants left in order to call 911. Ellenville Police
Department responded to the scene. Search warrants led to the recovery of the
two handguns, duct tape, and one of the cell phones. The shotgun had been
destroyed by one of the defendants and discarded piece by piece throughout the
Village of Ellenville. An Ulster County Grand Jury later indicted Taylor,
Torres and Jones for burglary in the first degree and other crimes stemming
from the home invasion.
Taylor and Torres face lengthy prison terms and will
be sentenced on September 8th and 9th, 2016. Jones’ case
remains pending at this time.
The case is being prosecuted by Ulster County Assistant
District Attorneys Joey Z. Drillings and Carly P. Wolfrom. Torres is represented by Edward Bruno, Esq. and
Taylor is represented by Glenn Kroll, Esq.
