A Connecticut man who is accused of conducting sexual assault of a minor in Putnam County has been charged by federal criminal complaint with multiple child exploitation offenses. According to court documents, on April 3, 2024, Marcos Francisco Javier Gomez, 23, of Norwalk, was arrested by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office after he traveled to New York to meet with a 13-year-old girl with whom he had engaged in sexually explicit communications via text messages, FaceTime, an

A Pawling man has been arrested following a months-long investigation by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office Bureau of Criminal Investigation into a public lewdness incident that occurred in Patterson earlier this year. According to Sheriff Brian Hess, on Feb. 21, his office received a report that a male had exposed himself and engaged in a lewd act while parked in the Acme supermarket parking lot on Route 22. Two occupants of a nearby vehicle reported seeing the suspect inten

A screenshot from bodycam footage recorded while making the arrest. A Southeast man is facing felony weapon charges following an alleged road rage incident in which he brandished a gun. According to Putnam County Sheriff Brian Hess, at about 8:15 p.m. June 20, deputies responded to a reported menacing with a firearm following a road rage incident in Southeast. The complainant reported that during a road rage incident on Peach Lake Road (Route 121), a male operating a black fl

A Pawling man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the killing of a well-known Brewster cab driver late last year. Santos Vasquez-Ramirez, 28, admitted to the intentional killing before Putnam County Court Justice Anthony Molé, according to District Attorney Robert Tendy. The victim, Aurelio Orbez of Danbury, Conn., was reported missing by his family to the Danbury Police Department on Dec. 1. Putnam County Sheriff’s Office Investigators, working with other law enfor

John Towners A former Stonecrop Gardens employee who was arrested April 18 and accused of secretly filming girls in 2018 and 2019 as they used a public restroom has pleaded guilty to all charges. Federal authorities say 56-year-old John Towers of Mahopac admitted to placing hidden cameras inside a bathroom at the Cold Spring park, to record women and children. According to a criminal complaint filed April 17 in federal court, the investigation began in February after the Nati

By Holly Crocco Assemblyman Matt Slater is calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to grant a pardon to former New York Police Department Sgt. Erik Duran of Putnam following his recent conviction and sentencing. In a letter sent to the Democratic governor, Slater, R-Yorktown, urges clemency for Duran, citing concerns that the case represents a miscarriage of justice and emphasizes the circumstances surrounding the incident. Duran, 38, of Mahopac, was found guilty in February of second-d

By Holly Crocco A New York Police Department sergeant from Putnam County was sentenced to three to nine years in state prison last week by Bronx State Supreme Court Justice Guy Mitchell. However, according to news reports, he was granted $300,000 bail and released, to remain free as he fights the conviction. “He should have never been in there to begin with,” said Sergeants Benevolent Association President Vincent Vallelong. Sgt. Erik Duran, 38, of Mahopac, was found guilty i

A New York Police Department sergeant from Putnam County was recently found guilty of second-degree manslaughter after throwing a cooler at a fleeing suspect in August of 2023, leading to the man’s death. Sgt. Erik Duran, 38, pleaded not guilty during his bench trial, in which there was no jury – just a judge hearing the arguments and rendering the verdict. He was convicted Feb. 6 by Bronx Supreme Court Judge Guy Mitchell and faces up to 15 years in prison. Sentencing is sche

A Mahopac man was arrested last week following a road rage/menacing incident in which he allegedly aimed a loaded gun at a school bus driver. New York State Police at Hawthorne received a walk-in complaint Feb. 4 from a school bus driver who reported that, while driving on the Taconic State Parkway southbound near exit 3 in Mount Pleasant, the driver of another vehicle pointed a handgun at him. In addition to the driver, a bus monitor and three children with special needs wer

By Holly Crocco A former Lake Peekskill man who was convicted in 2010 and again in 2017 of the murder of a Philipstown man, and attempted burglary of his business, has again had his conviction overturned and will receive a second retrial in Putnam County Court. On Nov. 25, the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division reversed the 2017 conviction of Anthony Grigoroff, who is accused of killing John Marcinak, 49, on Dec. 31, 2008, outside the Garrison Garage on Route 9,

A missing person investigation has concluded with the discovery of a dead body, according to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. Just before 6 p.m. Jan. 6, the sheriff’s office received a report of a missing person. While deputies and investigators conducted follow-up efforts to locate the individual, the next day at about 8:40 a.m., the body of an individual was discovered in a wooded area in the vicinity of Eastview Court in the Village of Brewster. At this time, the person

By Holly Crocco The man who killed a teenager in a Somers apartment complex last year, also shooting the boy’s mother and brother, before leading police on a manhunt that ended in Putnam Valley, was sentenced to 37 years to life in prison last week. In a plea deal reached in October, Fernando Jimenez, 41, pleaded guilty to shooting his girlfriend and her two sons in their Baldwin Place apartment Oct. 28, 2024. One of the sons, 15-year-old Michael Raimondi, was killed. A Westc

By Holly Crocco A Carmel man was recently found guilty of the 2022 murder of a Putnam woman he allegedly thought was stealing drugs from him. According to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton, following a one-week trial before U.S. District Judge Philip Halpern, a jury found Dwayne Pulliam, 63, guilty of Travel Act murder, participating in a conspiracy with intent to distribute and possess heroin and 28 grams of crack cocaine, and possession and dis

Santos Vasquez Ramirez, 28, is escorted out of the Putnam County Correctional Facility following his arrest for the murder of taxi driver Aurelio Zhunio-Orbez. Photo provided by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. By Holly Crocco A Pawling man was arrested last week and charged with the murder of a Brewster cab driver whose body was discovered in the Croton Falls Reservoir five days earlier. Santos Vasquez Ramirez, 28, was arrested outside his residence by Putnam County sheri

Following a reported physical assault of a woman that took place last week on the Putnam County Trailway in Carmel, County Executive Kevin Byrne has issued an executive order directing immediate measures to improve safety and security across the county’s trail system and other public spaces, and “reaffirming his administration’s commitment to public safety and the rule of law.” On Oct. 19, the Carmel Police Department – along with Kent police and sheriff’s deputies – responde

A man was arrested last week after causing a scare in Patterson. According to Putnam County Acting Sherrif Brian Hess, shortly after 5 p.m. Oct. 16, deputies were called to an incident involving a male subject dressed in full camouflage who allegedly menaced a neighbor with what appeared to be a firearm. The man then barricaded himself inside his residence and alluded to having an explosive device. The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team and Hostage Negotiati

Firefighters battle a multi-unit residential structure in Brewster last week. Photos provided by New York State Police. A Southeast man...

In a step to provide greater protection for animals and strengthen public involvement in doing so, the Putnam County SPCA has announced a...

President Donald Trump on Jan. 20 pardoned more than 1,500 men and women charged with participating in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on...

By Holly Crocco No motive has yet been determined in the fatal shooting that took place in the Baldwin Place area of Somers last week,...