Press Release - Swartz and Surdis Appeals

TO:       ALL NEWS MEDIA

FROM:     HOLLEY CARNRIGHT, DISTRICT ATTORNEY

DATE:     APRIL 26, 2018

The Appellate Division, Third Department has unanimously upheld judgments of convictions in the following cases:

People v Troy Swartz

Defendant was convicted in July, 2015 of sexual abuse in the first degree and strangulation in the second degree following a jury trial in the Ulster County Court. The defendant’s charges stem from an incident which occurred on Henry Street in the City of Kingston on January 8, 2014, where defendant broke into the victim’s ground floor apartment, physically assaulted her, and then strangled her.  After pinning her down on her sofa, the defendant sexually abused her.  He then rifled through her belongings and after stealing cash and prescription drugs, fled the scene. 

The defendant, a persistent felony offender, was sentenced by County Court Judge Donald A. Williams to concurrent indeterminate terms of 25 years to life. 

On appeal, defendant maintained that County Court improperly sentenced him as a persistent felony offender and that the Judge was biased against him and should have recused himself.  The Appellate Division, Third Department, however, after examining all of the appropriate criteria, including defendant’s four prior felony convictions, concluded that County Court had not abused its discretion by sentencing defendant as a persistent felony offender.  In addition, the Third Department found defendant’s claim of judicial bias was both unpreserved for appellate review and, in any event, without merit.

On appeal, the defendant is represented by Michael K. Gould, Esq. of the Public Defender’s Office.  Assistant District Attorney Joan Gudesblatt Lamb, Esq. handled the appeal for the District Attorney’s Office.

People v Kristopher Surdis

Defendant was convicted in September, 2016, after pleading guilty to falsely reporting an incident in the first degree, a class D violent felony, for calling in a bomb threat to a grocery store while he was incarcerated on another conviction for the same crime.

Defendant pled guilty to that charge pursuant to a plea agreement which included a waiver of appeal. He was sentenced by County Court Judge Donald A. Williams to a seven year prison term followed by five years of postrelease supervision to run concurrently with the prison term he was then serving.  At that time, the Court also issued orders of protection.

Although defendant was sentenced consistent with the terms of the plea agreement, on appeal he argued that the five year period of postrelease supervision was unlawful.  The Appellate Division, Third Department, however, disagreed.  In addition, defendant maintained that the duration of the orders of protection exceeded the maximum permitted by law.  The Third Department, however, determined that the orders of protection could expire in 2036, the date set by County Court.

On appeal, defendant is represented by John Ferrara, Esq. of Monticello, New York.  Assistant District Attorney Carly Wolfrom, Esq. handled the appeal for the District Attorney’s Office.

Press Release - Driveway Repair Scams

FROM: HOLLEY CARNRIGHT

DATE: APRIL 25, 2018

RE: PRESS RELEASE – DRIVEWAY REPAIR SCAMS

Spring is here and the Ulster County District Attorney’s Division of Consumer Affairs advises consumers to be alert for driveway repair scammers. The office cautions homeowners to be wary of businesses who solicit door-to-door; be wary of pressure to have the work done immediately; get a written estimate/contract beforehand and make certain the paperwork has the name, address and telephone number of the business; compare estimates; and always note license plate numbers and vehicle descriptions. Consumer Affairs can be reached at 340-3260.

Press Release - Jason Wands/Damon Dunn/Joshua Sickler Appeals

PRESS RELEASE

FROM:     HOLLEY CARNRIGHT

DATE:     APRIL 19, 2018

The Appellate Division, Third Department has unanimously affirmed judgments of convictions in the following cases:

People v Jason Wands

In May, 2016, defendant was convicted upon his plea of guilty of the crime of attempted burglary in the second degree. Defendant, a second violent felony offender, was subsequently sentenced by County Court Judge Donald A. Williams to a State prison term of seven years followed by five years of postrelease supervision. 

On appeal, the defendant argued that the sentence imposed was unduly harsh and excessive. The Appellate Division, Third Department found such claim was precluded by defendant’s valid waiver of appeal.

On appeal, defendant is represented by Michael C. Ross, Esq. of Bloomingburg, New York.  Assistant District Attorney Joan Gudesblatt Lamb, Esq. handled the appeal for the District Attorney’s Office.

People v Damon Dunn

In July, 2013, defendant pled guilty to the crime of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree in the Ulster County Court as a result of a series of drug sales he made to a confidential informant in the presence of an undercover officer in the City of Kingston. 

Defendant, a second felony offender, was subsequently sentenced to a determinate State prison term of six years followed by three years of postrelease supervision by Ulster County Court Judge Donald A. Williams and ordered to pay $450 in restitution.

On appeal, the defendant challenged the validity of his oral and written waiver of appeal and the amount of the restitution assessed at the time of sentence, claiming that it did not reflect the terms of the plea agreement.  In fact, on appeal, the People conceded that they had inadvertently requested the incorrect amount of restitution at the time of sentence and the award was modified to $250.  In all other respects, the Appellate Division, Third Department rejected defendant’s claims and affirmed his conviction. 

On appeal, defendant is represented by Donna Maria Lasher, Esq. of Youngsville, New York.  Assistant District Attorney Joan Gudesblatt Lamb, Esq. handled the appeal for the District Attorney’s Office.

People v Joshua Sickler

In September, 2014, defendant pled guilty to attempted sexual abuse in the first degree and was sentenced to six months in the Ulster County Jail to be followed by 10 years of probation. Less than one year later, defendant violated a number of the conditions of his probation and a declaration of delinquency was filed by the Probation Department.  County Court (Donald A. Williams, J.) subsequently revoked his probation and sentenced him to the maximum allowable term of imprisonment for attempted sexual abuse in the first degree of four years followed by 10 years of postrelease supervision.

While defendant argued on appeal that the maximum sentence imposed by County Court was unduly harsh and excessive, the Appellate Division, Third Department disagreed.  In fact, the Court emphasized that defendant, a sex offender, had violated the terms and conditions of his probation in a significant respect by, among other things, having unsupervised contact with minors, using the Internet to email a young girl from Mexico and possessing pornographic material. 

On appeal, defendant is represented by Assistant Public Defender Michael K. Gould, Esq. of Kingston, New York.  Assistant District Attorney Joan Gudesblatt Lamb, Esq. handled the appeal for the District Attorney’s Office.

Press Release - Richard Dana Plea

FROM:     HOLLEY CARNRIGHT

DATE:     APRIL 18, 2018

SUBJECT: PRESS RELEASE – RICHARD DANA

On April 17, 2018, RICHARD DANA, age 55, of 965 Upper Mountain Road, Pine Bush, New York, pled guilty to Hindering Prosecution in the Third Degree before Judge Michael Voss in the Town of Shawangunk Justice Court. Dana was charged by the New York State Police on September 8, 2017 in connection with his rendering criminal assistance to two fugitives wanted on attempted murder charges out of Tennessee.

On June 20, 2017, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee issued an alert in connection with fugitives Jarret Cole Heitman and Makayla Danielle Stillwell, who were wanted for attempted second degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and aggravated robbery.   At the time, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation indicated the man and woman were armed with an assault rifle and shotgun, and “should be considered armed and dangerous.” 

The New York State Police were alerted to sightings of the fugitives in Pine Bush and Bloomingburg, and began an intensive, multi-county manhunt. Over the course of several days, the State Police called to bear multiple resources including K-9 units, aviation, uniform and BCI members.  Other area law enforcement agencies participated in the search.  Multiple public service announcements were dispatched via the NYSWatchCenter alert system. 

On June 23, 2017, Richard Dana found Heitmann and Stilwell hiding in a shed on his property on Upper Mountain Road. Despite knowing that these fugitives were the subject of a multi-state manhunt, Dana provided them with food, shelter, pillows and a blanket.  Furthermore, Dana allowed them to shower in his home and to stay the night.  In the early morning hours of June 24, 2017, Dana drove the fugitives across state lines to a Walmart store in Matamoras, Pennsylvania.  At that time, he provided them with a daypack, clothing, emergency pouches, blankets and a knife. 

Aside from the risk posed to the public, the State Police estimate that the man-hunt for these fugitives cost in excess of $100,000.00 in taxpayer money. Sentencing in the Town of Shawangunk is scheduled for June 19, 2018.

Press Release - Publishers Clearing House Scam

FROM: HOLLEY CARNRIGHT

DATE: APRIL 18, 2018

RE: PRESS RELEASE – PUBLISHERS CLEARING HOUSE SCAM

Publishers Clearing House has gotten many reports about scammers using the Publishers Clearing House name to deceive people. Scammers call, claiming you’ve won the sweepstakes, but to collect your prize you need to send money to pay for so-called fees and taxes.

According to the Ulster County District Attorney’s Division of Consumer Affairs, paying to collect a prize is a scam. Scammers will ask you to send money by Western Union or MoneyGram, or by getting a prepaid card or gift card because it’s nearly impossible to trace.

If you think you’ve won a prize, Consumer Affairs advises:

·       Publishers Clearing House will never ask you to pay a fee to collect a prize. In fact, no legitimate prize promoter will ever charge you to win.

·       If anyone calls asking you to pay for a prize, hang up.

·       Never send money to collect a prize. It’s a scam.

·       Publishers Clearing House doesn’t call ahead to say you’ve won.

·       Check the Publishers Clearing House’s fraud protection page, https://info.pch.com/fraud-protection-2/

Consumer Affairs can be reached at 845-340-3260.