Press Release - People v Jarrin Rankin

TO: MEDIA
FROM: HOLLEY CARNRIGHT
DATE: JUNE 15, 2011
RE: PRESS RELEASE – PEOPLE V JARRIN RANKIN


On June 14, 2011 an Ulster County Jury returned a verdict of guilty against Jarrin “Phat Boy” Rankin for the crime of Conspiracy to commit murder. The jury had deliberated approximately four hours before returning their verdict.

Rankin was one of seven co-defendants indicted for the execution of prosecution witness CJ King. Two co-defendants, Gary Griffin a/k/a “G Money” and Trevor Mattis a/k/a “Little T” had previously been convicted of Murder in the First Degree and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

Rankin was the central figure in this gang/conspiracy indictment. Rankin was first indicted for Criminal Possession of a Weapon regarding the shooting of Curtis Williams on November 21, 2009. CJ King was present at that shooting and was subpoenaed to testify before the Grand Jury. It was as a result of his having testified against Rankin that Rankin and his fellow gang members conspired to kill him.

“Conspiracy cases are, by their nature, very difficult to investigate and prove. However, there were a number of factors in addition to the motive that led to the clear and convincing conclusion that Rankin was guilty of this conspiracy. One of the keys in presenting this case was to educate the jury regarding the gang itself.”

“Rankin was a member of the Bloods gang. A number of people deserve credit for the work they have done on this file, but certainly Detective Robert Henry warrants special recognition for his career’s work in gang intelligence gathering and the work he did on this particular case.”

The Conspiracy charge is a Class B felony which carries a sentence of up to twenty five years in State Prison. Rankin is scheduled to appear before the Honorable Donald A. Williams on July 11, 2011 for sentencing. Two other co-conspirators named in the indictment, Jermaine Nicholas a/k/a “Maino” and Rondy Russ a/k/a “Ski” will be tried later this Summer.

Social Host Law

Local Law Number 2 Of 2008 County Of Ulster A Local Law To Prohibit Consumption Of Alcoholic Beverages By Minors On Private Property (Underage Drinking Party Local Law)
BE IT ENACTED, by the Legislature of the County of Ulster, as follows:

SECTION 1. LEGISLATIVE INTENT. The purpose of this Local Law is to protect the public interest, welfare, health and safety within the County of Ulster by prohibiting the services to and consumption of alcoholic beverages and drugs by persons under the age of twenty- one (21) at private premises located in Ulster County. The Ulster County Legislature finds that the occurrence of social gatherings at private premises where alcoholic beverages or drugs are served to or consumed by persons under the age of twenty-one (21) is harmful to such persons themselves and a threat to public welfare, health and safety. The Ulster County Legislature finds further that persons under the age of twenty-one (21) often obtain alcoholic beverages or drugs at such gatherings and that persons who are in control of such premises know or have reason to know of such service and/or consumption and will be more likely to ensure that alcoholic beverages and drugs are neither served to nor consumed by persons under the age of twenty-one (21) at these gatherings.

SECTION 2. DEFINITIONS. Whenever used in this Local Law, unless a different meaning is stated in a definition applicable to only a portion of this Local Law, the following terms will be defined and shall have meanings set forth below:

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE: Any liquor, wine, beer, spirits, cider or other liquid or solid, patented or not, composed of or containing alcohol or spirits, whether or not brewed, fermented or distilled, and capable of being consumed by a person; except that confectionary containing alcohol as provided in Subsection 12 or 200 Agriculture and Markets Law shall not be considered alcoholic beverages within the meaning of this section.

CONTROL: The authority and ability to regulate, direct or dominate.
DRUG: Includes any substance listed in Section 3306 of the Public Health Law.
MINOR: Any person under the age of twenty-one (21).
OPEN HOUSE PARTY: A social gathering at a residence or other private property with minors present.
PERSON: A human being and where appropriate, a public or private corporation, an unincorporated association, a partnership, a government or a governmental instrumentality.
PREMISES: Any home, apartment, condominium, co-operative unit or other dwelling unit of any kind, including yards and open areas adjacent thereto.

SECTION 3 PROHIBITION. No person having control of any premises shall allow an open house party to take place at said residence if such person knows or has reason to know that any alcoholic beverage or drug is being unlawfully possessed, served to or consumed by a minor at said residence.

SECTION 4. EXCEPTIONS. The provisions of this section shall not apply to: (a) The possession or consumption of an alcoholic beverage by persons lawfully permitted to do so pursuant to Section 65-c of the New York State Alcohol Beverage Control Law, or any other applicable law; or (b) The possession or consumption of a drug for which the individual has a current, valid prescription or as otherwise permitted by any other applicable law.

SECTION 5. INCONSISTENCY WITH OTHER LAWS. (a) If any part or provision of this section is inconsistent with any Federal or State statute, law, rule or regulation, then such statute, law, rule or regulation shall prevail.
(b) If any part or provision of this Section or the application thereof to any person or circumstance be adjudged invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall be confined in its operation to the part or provision of or application directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered and shall not affect or impair the validity of the remainder of this section, or the application thereof to other persons or circumstances.

SECTION 6. PENALTIES. Failure to comply with Section 3 above shall constitute a violation, punishable by a fine which shall not exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00), or imprisonment not exceeding fifteen (15) days or a combination of such fine and imprisonment as shall be fixed by the court.

SECTION 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Local Law shall take effect immediately.
Adopted: February 19, 2008

Underage Drinking

BE SMART BE SAFE
May 18, 2011

Greetings:

It is that time of year when students in our county will be taking part in proms and graduations. Although it is justifiably a time of joy and celebration, it is equally one for caution and restraint. I am writing to enlist your assistance in helping to prevent the potentially tragic consequences of drinking and driving.

Alcohol is by far the most widely used drug among our youth and is directly associated with risk-taking behavior and other disinhibiting effects that increase the chance of unsafe conduct on their part. Unfortunately, in recent years, our county has experienced its tragic results.

On February 19, 2008, in an effort to combat drunk driving Ulster County passed ALocal Law Number 2 of 2008,@ * which, in pertinent part, provides that Ano person having control of any premises shall allow an open house party to take place at said residence if such person knows or has reason to know that any alcoholic beverage or drug is being unlawfully possessed, served to or consumed by a minor (under 21) at said residence.@ It defines Aopen house party@ as Aa social gathering at a residence or other private property with minors present.@

In addition, the Social Host Liability Act of the State of New York imposes civil liability upon any individual who knowingly serves or permits alcohol to be served to a minor if that minor causes injury to another as a result of his or her intoxication.

Furthermore, Section 260.20 of the Penal Law of the State of New York authorizes the prosecution of any individual who gives or sells or causes to be given or sold any alcoholic beverage to a person less than 21 years old.


I ask that if you permit the use of your home for a prom or event, you monitor the situation carefully to insure that minors in attendance do not imbibe alcoholic beverages.

Please help to make this graduation season a time of celebration. Help keep our children, our loved ones, and our county safe.

Sincerely,

D. Holley Carnright
District Attorney


* To view the entire Social Host Law go to the Ulster County District Attorney Website by clicking on co.ulster.ny.us and go to department/agencies/district attorney.

PRESS RELEASE

TO: MEDIA
RE: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS
DATE: APRIL 21, 2011

Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright and Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Culmone met with the ninth to tenth grade students at Onteora High School on April 21, 2011 to discuss Domestic Violence Awareness.

The District Attorney and his assistant are both members of the Ulster County Interagency Council on Domestic Violence. The program began with an original script written for this age group, acted out by two students, Seraphina Mallon-Breiman, a senior at Onteora High School, and Nate Cayea, a graduate of Onteora High School. Following the performance DA Carnright and Ms. Culmone answered questions from the students about domestic violence and how to handle potential domestic violence situations that might arise from their drinking.

“We have been working on this program for quite some time. Along with ADA Culmone, a lot of credit should be given to the Department of Social Services attorney Mike Iapoce, who worked with ADA Culmone to put this together. We would like to present this program to other Ulster County high schools next October”. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Press Release - People v Nashon Simmons

PRESS RELEASE

TO: All News Media
FROM: D. Holley Carnright, District Attorney
DATE: April 22, 2011
RE: People v. Nashon Simmons


District Attorney D. Holley Carnright announced today that on April 22, 2011 Ulster County Court Judge Donald A. Williams sentenced Nashon Simmons, a Town of Ulster man to 15 years in prison for his role in two robberies committed by the “Black Mask, Black Glove” gang in the City of Kingston in November 2009. At the time of sentencing Simmons was 18 years old.
In February, an Ulster County jury convicted Simmons of charges arising from two separate robberies which occurred about an hour apart as the victims were walking home from Kingston Plaza. In both incidents, Simmons acted in concert with four to five other gang members and associates. The jury also convicted Simmons of Grand Larceny for a purse-snatching in the Town of Ulster about two weeks after the robberies.
Judge Williams sentenced Simmons to 15 years, the maximum sentence, for each of the two robberies, said sentences to run concurrently. Judge Williams also sentenced Simmons to the maximum terms on the Grand Larceny charge (an indeterminate term of one and one-third to four years) and the Assault charges (one year in the Ulster County Jail). The larceny sentence will also run concurrently with the robbery sentences and, by operation of law, the assault sentences are subsumed by the robbery sentences.
Simmons was represented by attorney Dennis McClure of Kingston. The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Dylan Gallagher.

Press Release - People v William Constable

DISTRICT ATTORNEY D. HOLLEY CARNRIGHT ANNOUNCES: SAUGERTIES MAN SENTENCED TO SEVEN YEARS IN PRISON FOR SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILD

William Constable, 50, of Bill Par Drive, Saugerties, was sentenced Friday, April 22, 2011, in Ulster County Court before Hon. Donald A. Williams to the maximum sentence permitted by law, seven years in state prison followed by five years post-release supervision. Constable will be required to register as a level three sexual predator for a minimum of twenty years under the New York State Sexual Offender Registration Act.

The defendant entered a plea on January 7, 2011, to Sexual Abuse in the First Degree. The sexual abuse occurred in February of 2010, at a residence in Lake Katrine. The victim was less than eleven years old. The defendant fled to Virginia and was arrested upon his return in March of 2011, following an investigation conducted by the Ulster County Family Violence Unit. He was indicted on April 13, 2010.

Ulster County District Attorney, Holley Carnright described the sentence as “appropriate”. He noted that there are many difficulties unique to crimes against children. Carnright stated that he is committed to holding offenders accountable who target this particularly vulnerable population. He lauded the victim and the victim’s family for their strength and courage throughout the process of the criminal prosecution and Carnright also lauded the Ulster County Family Violence Unit for their thorough investigative efforts.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Katherine Van Loan. The defendant is represented by the Ulster County Public Defender’s Office.

Press Release - People v Mattis and Griffin

TO: ALL NEWS MEDIA

DATE: April 15, 2011

RE: PEOPLE V. TREVOR “LITTLE T” MATTIS AND GARY “G-MONEY” GRIFFIN

An Ulster County Jury of three men and nine women found defendants Trevor Mattis a/k/a Little T and Gary Griffin a/k/a G-Money guilty of all charges relating to the gangland slaying of C.J. King on Cedar Street in Kingston of February 9, 2010. The jury received the case at approximately noon and returned their verdict by 4:00 p.m. It was the first Murder in the First Degree verdict in Ulster County’s recent memory. District Attorney Holley Carnright called the verdict emotionally charged. I was struck by a comment made by defense counsel in his summation “This week has been the most important week in my client’s life” and I could not help but contrast that against the fact that C.J. King would never have another “most important week.”

This case was not just an assault against a young man whose adult life had just begun, this was an assault by gang members who felt they were above our system of justice and could control our system of justice. The citizens of the City of Kingston and Ulster County should be proud of the work that the men and women in the Kingston Police Department and the Ulster County Sheriff’s Department did on this case. From start to finish this has been a monumental effort. Today we took two dangerous criminals off the street. We took a first step in breaking up the local set of the Sex, Money, Murder gang. It is not every day that I get to say this, but today we made Ulster County a little bit safer.

Prom Letter-Thank You

Holley, thank you for the letters to parents and limo companies for prom season. Every effort improves our chance of a safe prom season. John. John F. Miller Coordinator - Ulster County STOP DWI (845) 340-3448