Press Release - Ryan Williams conviction

FROM: HOLLEY CARNRIGHT

DATE: APRIL 30, 2019

RE: PRESS RELEASE – RYAN WILLIAMS CONVICTION

On April 30, 2019 a jury of 10 men and 2 women convicted Ryan Williams, 29, of Poughkeepsie, NY on charges of Murder in the second degree; Aggravated Vehicular Homicide (4 counts); Unlawful Fleeing from a Police Officer in the first degree, Assault in the second degree (2 counts) and Aggravated Operation of a Motor Vehicle in the first degree.

The case stems from an incident on July 1, 2018 on Route 299 in the Town of Lloyd where Williams, travelling in excess of 100 MPH, struck and killed Danielle Pecoraro of Lloyd while she was driving Easterly in a Ford 150 pickup truck. Ms. Pecoraro’s daughter and a passenger in a vehicle following the pickup truck were seriously injured.

In convicting the defendant of murder, the jury found that he acted with depraved indifference to human life. In essence, depraved indifference murder is defined as behavior so heinous that the perpetrator displays an utter disregard to human life.

Moments before the crash police received a civilian 911 complaint of a man operating a Porshe Cayenne in an erratic manner on Route 9W. The Town of Lloyd Police Department pulled Williams’ vehicle over as it turned from 9W onto Route 299. As the officer approached Williams’ vehicle, witnesses observed Williams throw a glass object out of the driver’s window and flee, at an excessively high rate of speed, from the officer.  Travelling at speeds at times in excess of 120 MPH, and passing vehicles on the right shoulder, Williams approached the South Street intersection before losing control of his vehicle and killing Ms. Pecoraro. The force of the impact literally tore the Porsche in half and crushed the pickup truck. 

Williams’ BAC at the time of the crash was .33. 

Williams’ prior criminal history includes being sentenced to jail on three occasions for convictions for Fleeing from a Police Officer. The defendants prior Fleeing from a Police Officer convictions were not allowed to be presented to the jury. 

Williams was represented by Carol Morgan who called no witnesses at the trial, nor did the defendant testify on his own behalf. The case was prosecuted by Sr. Assistant District Attorneys Joey Drillings and Lisa Bondarenka. The defendant will be scheduled for sentencing before County Court Judge Donald Williams at a future date.

Press Release - Gregory P. Tietje appeal

FROM:     HOLLEY CARNRIGHT, DISTRICT ATTORNEY

DATE:     APRIL 18, 2019

The Appellate Division, Third Department has unanimously affirmed the February, 2017 conviction of Gregory P. Tietje upon his plea of guilty convicting him of the crime of driving while intoxicated, a class D felony. 

Defendant’s conviction stems from an incident which occurred on the evening of May 9, 2016 in the Town of Lloyd when he was stopped for drinking and driving and had a young child in the vehicle with him.

Defendant pled guilty to driving while intoxicated and executed a waiver of his right to appeal, orally and in writing.  Thereafter, in accordance with the terms of the negotiated plea agreement, he was sentenced to an indeterminate State prison term with a minimum of two years and a maximum of six years.

On appeal, defendant claimed that his waiver of appeal was invalid and that the sentence imposed by County Court was unduly harsh and severe.  The Appellate Division, Third Department, however, rejected both of these claims. 

On appeal, the defendant is represented by Dennis J. Lamb, Esq. of Troy, New York.  Assistant District Attorney Joan Gudesblatt Lamb, Esq. handled the appeal for the District Attorney’s Office.

 

Press Release - Raymond Ducker conviction

FROM: HOLLEY CARNRIGHT

DATE: APRIL 15, 2019

RE: PRESS RELEASE – RAYMOND DUCKER CONVICTION

Following a jury trial, on April 12, 2019 Raymond Ducker, of Ellenville, was convicted of three counts of Aggravated Family Offense and four counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child.

Ducker, a prior felon, assaulted the mother of his child in the presence of four children on August 6, 2018. While driving through the towns of Rochester, Wawarsing and Marbletown, the defendant repeatedly struck the victim, looped a phone cord around her neck and burned her face with a lit cigarette. The victim suffered a concussion, extensive bruising and a burn scar that lasted for months. An 8 year old, 3 year old and two infants were in the car while the defendant terrorized the victim.

At trial the defendant testified in his own defense. He denied striking the victim and said that she was burned by the cigarette accidently while he was pushing her away. 

This is the defendant's fourth domestic violence conviction. He has previously been convicted of Stalking in the 1st Degree, Criminal Contempt in the 1st Degree, Criminal Contempt in the 2nd Degree and Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree. The defendant's prior convictions each involved different intimate partners. 

In New York State, in almost all instances, juries are not allowed to know the specifics of a defendant’s prior domestic violence history when the defendant is on trial for a domestic violence.  In addition to Ducker’s domestic violence history his criminal history includes 23 arrests and 18 convictions dating back to 2001.  He has failed to appear in court on 5 separate occasions, been sentenced to probation and had his probation revoked on 2 separate occasions and has had his parole revoked.

Aggravated Family Offense was a law specifically created by the New York State legislature to address domestic violence offenders who continue to offend after previously being convicted of a domestic violence offense. 

The defendant faces up to two to four years in state prison for his convictions. He is scheduled to be sentenced June 26, 2019. The prosecution was handled by Sr. Assistant District Attorney Gerard Van Loan and Assistant District Attorney Carly Burkhardt. Ducker was represented by the Ulster County Public Defender’s Office.

Press Releases - Adorno and Perez appeals

FROM:     HOLLEY CARNRIGHT, DISTRICT ATTORNEY

DATE:     APRIL 11, 2019

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

People v Fernando Adorno

Defendant was convicted in the Ulster County Court upon his plea of guilty of the crime of burglary in the second degree, a class C violent felony, in January, 2017 as a result of an incident which occurred in 2015 in Plattekill.  According to the defendant, he committed this residential burglary to obtain property to sell to fund his heroin addiction.

Following his plea to burglary in the second degree in the Ulster County Court (Donald A. Williams, J.), at which time he also waived his right to appeal, defendant was sentenced to a State prison term of four and one-half years to be followed by five years of postrelease supervision. 

On appeal, defendant argued that the agreed upon State prison term of four and one-half years followed by five years of postrelease supervision was unduly harsh and excessive.  The Appellate Division, Third Department, however, rejected defendant’s claim, noting that his argument is precluded by his valid waiver of appeal.

On appeal, the defendant is represented by Justin Brusgul, Esq. of Voorheesville, New York.  Assistant District Attorney Joan Gudesblatt Lamb, Esq. handled the appeal for the District Attorney’s Office.

 

People v Omaida Perez

Defendant was convicted in March, 2016 in the Ulster County Court upon her plea of guilty to the crimes of grand larceny in the fourth degree and burglary in the third degree.  Defendant’s conviction stems from an incident which occurred in August, 2014 at which time she stole two shotguns from a residence in Wawarsing where she worked as a cleaning lady and pawned them for $750 in cash.  She later stole $800 from her employer under the false pretense that she would be able to recover the stolen weapons she had pawned. Instead, Defendant apparently used the money to buy heroin and claimed she was unable to locate the weapons.

Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement at which time she waived her right to appeal, defendant pled guilty to grand larceny in the fourth degree, a class E felony, in exchange for a split sentence of six months in jail and five years probation.  She was, however, warned that her sentence would be enhanced if she committed additional offenses pending sentence.  In fact, defendant committed another burglary while at liberty. Subsequently, defendant pled guilty to the burglary and was sentenced to one and one-third to four years on the grand larceny and two and one-third to seven on the burglary conviction.

On appeal, defendant claimed that the sentences imposed by County Court, which were the maximum allowed by law, were unduly harsh and excessive, but that contention, as the Appellate Division found, was precluded by her unchallenged waiver of appeal.  Defendant also claimed that the Court improperly denied her post-judgment applications for deferral and/or remission of the restitution and surcharges imposed, but those claims were not properly before the Court. 

On appeal, the defendant is represented by Marshall Nadan, Esq. of Kingston, New York.  Assistant District Attorney Joan Gudesblatt Lamb, Esq. handled the appeal for the District Attorney’s Office.

Press Release - Calls Claiming to be the SSA

FROM: HOLLEY CARNRIGHT

DATE: APRIL 11, 2019

RE: PRESS RELEASE – CALLS CLAIMING TO BE THE SSA

Scammers pretending to be from the Social Security Administration (SSA) are saying your Social Security number (SSN) has been suspended because of suspicious activity or being involved in a crime. Sometimes, the scammer wants you to confirm your SSN to reactivate it or will ask for money or gift cards to keep your SSN or bank account safe.

According to the Ulster County District Attorney’s Division of Consumer Affairs…

·       Your Social Security number is not about to be suspended. You don’t have to verify your number to anyone who calls out of the blue. And your bank accounts are not about to be seized.

·       SSA will never call to threaten your benefits or tell you to wire money, send cash, or put money on gift cards. Anyone who tells you to do those things is a scammer.

·       The real SSA number is 1-800-772-1213, but scammers are putting that number in the caller ID. If you’re worried about what the caller says, hang up and call 1-800-772-1213 to speak to the real SSA. 

·       The local Social Security office (in Poughkeepsie) can be reached at 1-877-405-6747.

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