This screenshot from dash camera footage posted by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office shows the suspect’s vehicle tethered to the law enforcement vehicle behind it, which was put in place using a Grappler Police Bumper when the deputy bumped into the vehicle from behind. A high-speed vehicle pursuit that spanned more than 30 minutes across Putnam and Dutchess counties Oct. 22 resulted in the arrest of two Hudson Valley residents, thanks to the use of a Grappler Police Bumper.

By Holly Crocco More than 30 years after 17-year-old Robin Murphy vanished from Carmel, her case is again in the spotlight as a Hudson Valley podcaster highlights the man who he believes may be behind the mystery. After the success of season one of “The Devil’s Quarry,” which highlighted the 1994 murder of 12-year-old Josette Wright of Carmel and the cases of Anthony DiPippo and Andrew Kirvak, “Rolling Stone” journalist Paul Solotaroff is back with season two, which focuses o

A Mahopac man is facing sexual assault charges after an incident that also allegedly involved him providing alcohol to a minor. According to Putnam County Sheriff Brian Hess, investigation began Oct. 6 when deputies responded to a report of a missing teenage girl who was believed to be with a 33-year-old man. Deputies located the girl, who was allegedly highly intoxicated, in a vehicle with Joseph Filingeri, and determined that he had purchased the alcohol. The girl was trans

A man wanted for the 2022 sexual assault case against two women in Putnam County was recently located in Canada, and arrested. Cesar Hernandez Rodriguez, 34, a Mexican citizen, was returned to the U.S. after a prolonged and complicated extradition process. The arrest stems from allegations of sexual assault on two women July 4 and 5 of 2022 in the Town of Putnam Valley. According to Putnam County Sheriff Robert Hess, his office began investigating the case July 5, 2022, and i

A former Putnam County resident has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $200,000 from two area nonprofits in Garrison, according to District Attorney Robert Tendy. On Oct. 13, Mark Kenny pled guilty to the entirety of the indictment pending against him, which included two counts of second-degree grand larceny and one count of first-degree falsifying business records that allowed him to steal $212,000 from the Garrison Fish & Game Club and the Catfish Pond Association. The in

A Yorktown woman who serves as a monitor on a school bus for the Mahopac Central School District was arrested last week following investigation into an incident that occurred earlier in the month. According to Putnam County Sheriff Brian Hess, district officials were alerted late in the afternoon Oct. 6 to an incident that occurred Oct. 2. The following day, the district contacted the sheriff’s office. Video surveillance from the bus was reviewed and it was determined that Ma

A Brewster man, who has reportedly been living in the country illegally, was arrested twice in 18 hours following separate robbery and forcible touch incidents in Putnam. According to Putnam County Sheriff Brian Hess, at about 9 p.m. Sept. 29, Putnam County 911 dispatched deputies to the Southeast train station after a female passenger reported being forcibly touched by a male aboard a train. The suspect fled before deputies arrived. An officer quickly located Diego Rodriguez

A Mahopac man has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to felony drug charges, again. According to Putnam County District Attorney Robert Tendy, Omar Miles, 47, was sentenced Aug. 19 to seven years in prison followed by three years post-release supervision after pleading guilty to one count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance in June of this year. Miles was arrested Dec. 22 after a joint investigation conducted by the Carmel Police Departm

A Pawling man has been sentenced to 21 years to life for the murder of a Brewster cab driver last year. Santos Vasquez Ramirez, 28, was sentenced last week by Putnam County Court Justice Anthony Mole for the murder of Aurelio Orbez. According to Putnam County District Attorney Robert Tendy, on Dec. 1, 2025, Orbez, of Danbury, was reported missing by his family after he did not return him from work the night before. Six days later, his body was recovered from the Croton Falls

Members of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office join local law enforcement, government representatives, friends, and family at the dedication of the new Sheriff Kevin J. McConville Memorial Substation in Nelsonville last week. An impassioned crowd of law enforcement officers, elected officials, family members, and friends gathered Aug. 20 to memorialize former Putnam County Sheriff Kevin McConville with the dedication of the Nelsonville substation of the Putnam County Sheriff’s

In response to growing national questions about license plate reader technology, and in particular about the Flock Safety camera network in use in many communities across the country, law enforcement agencies in Putnam County are speaking with one voice to explain how the county’s system works, how it is different, and what it has done to keep Putnam residents safe. Recent national reporting has raised serious concerns about commercially operated camera networks: data stored

The Carmel Police Department has released the name of the suspect involved in a stabbing at the U.S. Post Office in the Carmel on July 30. Howard McNiff, 38, of Nanuet, was taken into custody at the scene and has been charged with second-degree attempted murder and two counts of second-degree assault, felonies; as well as fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor. Shortly before 3 p.m. July 30, Putnam County 911 received a report of a disturbance at the loc

Members of the Carmel Police Department and Putnam County Sheriff’s Office responded to a reported stabbing at the U.S. Post Office in Carmel on Thursday, July 30. At about 3 p.m., Putnam County 911 received a call reporting a disturbance at the location. Updates from the dispatch center indicated that an assault had occurred and that a victim had sustained multiple stab wounds. Sheriff’s deputies arrived almost instantly to the assault in progress and deployed a Taser, and t

Were political messages scrawled on the replica Declaration of Independence hanging at the Historical Courthouse in Carmel an act of vandalism, or an exercise of one’s First Amendment right? Photo provided by the Putnam County Executive’s Office. By Holly Crocco As part of continuing countywide celebrations of America’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne is notifying residents that another larger-than-life

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