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NY Teacher Who Admitted Raping Teen Student Ripped By Judge At Sentencing: ‘Twisted Fantasy’
A Capital Region high school teacher was living in a “twisted fantasy, false reality” when he started a sexual relationship with his 16-year-old student, a judge said at his sentencing hearing Friday, Aug. 21.
Drake Galarneau, 36, of Cohoes, got four years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of third-degree rape, the Albany County District Attorney’s office said.
“What sort of twisted fantasy, false reality were you living in, sir, to think this was appropriate or somehow right for you as a teacher to have a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student?” Judge Roger McDonough as…
More Stormy Weather On Way: Timing For New Rounds Of Weekend Rain, Showers
An unsettled stretch threatens to bring more rain in much of the Northeast.
New rounds of showers and thunderstorms are expected Saturday, Aug. 22, and Sunday, Aug. 23, with the potential for torrential downpours and localized flash flooding, according to the National Weather Service.
The concern is heightened in areas that were drenched Thursday, Aug. 20, including parts of eastern Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey, and western Connecticut. AccuWeather says 1 to 3 inches of rain fell in those areas, with isolated totals reaching 4 inches.
Some of the same areas could be hit again as distu…
DWI Driver Who Killed Man In Capital Region Crash Had ‘No Remorse,’ Victim’s Mom Says
A Capital Region man who killed another man in a drunken car crash last year was sentenced Friday, Aug. 21 to prison time, authorities said.
Matthew Merriman, 30, of Rotterdam, will serve between six and two-thirds and 20 years in prison, the Albany County District Attorney’s office said. The sentence was in line with a plea deal Merriman took in June.
Merriman ran a red light while traveling northbound on Everett Road in Albany and slammed into a driver who was exiting I-90 around 5:45 p.m. on Sept. 30, 2025, investigators said. Matthew Mardon, a 34-year-old Wynantskill man, was kille…
Child Sex Abuse Material Found On Albany Man’s Phone, Jury Takes One Hour To Convict: DA
An Albany man with child sex abuse material on his phone was convicted on eight counts, authorities said Thursday, Aug. 20.
Kurt Nous, 54, faces a maximum of four years in prison for each count of possessing a sexual performance by a child, the Albany County District Attorney’s office said.
Authorities began investigating Nous in October 2024 following a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, prosecutors said. State troopers searched his residence on March 12, 2025, and seized electronics, police said.
Investigators found Nous had downloaded and saved child sex…
Child's Severed Ear Found In Home After Dogs' 2nd Attack; 3 Charged: Court Docs
A portion of a 6-year-old girl's ear was found inside a Lebanon County home after two dogs mauled her — their second serious attack on a young child at the residence — according to court documents obtained by Daily Voice on Friday, Aug. 21.
Rebecca Hresko, 31, and her parents, Andrew "Andy" Hresko, 70, and Debra Hresko, 61, of the Hresko family, who run Hresko's Bar-B-Que Pit, have been charged for their respective roles in the attacks involving the family's dogs, Chip and Zeus, at their South Lebanon Township home.
Rebecca Hresko faces First-Degree Felony Aggravated Assault of a Child, Sec…
Capital Region Coke Dealer Busted In Traffic Stop On I-87, Police Say
A Capital Region man was busted in a traffic stop with more than half a pound of cocaine, police said Friday, Aug. 21.
Chasaun Pearson, 33, of Queensbury, was traveling on I-87 through Saratoga Springs on Monday, Aug. 17 when he was pulled over multiple violations around 1 p.m., New York State Police said.
As troopers investigated Pearson, they found more than eight ounces of cocaine inside the vehicle, authorities said. The troopers were assisted by the Saratoga County Sheriff’s office’s K9 unit.
Pearson was charged with first- and third-degree drug possession, along with the vehicle and …
‘Demon’ Made BF Stab College Soccer Star Dead, Mom Helped Hide Body: Court Docs
A soccer player days away from starting her freshman year was stabbed to death by her boyfriend after he claimed a “demon” took over and told him to stab her in a Jeep parked near her dorm — then his mother helped clean up and conceal her body, according to court documents obtained by Daily Voice on Friday, Aug. 21.
Royce Joel Moser, 18, of Canonsburg, is charged with criminal homicide in the death of 18-year-old Karoline Jordyn Heintz, along with abuse of a corpse, conspiracy, tampering with evidence, conspiracy to tamper with evidence, and obstructing the administration of law, court recor…
Video: Tornado Rips Through Long Island Beach Club, Damaging Cabanas, Buildings
A tornado that began as a waterspout off Long Island tore through a private beach club, damaging dozens of cabanas and other structures and forcing two clubs to close indefinitely.
The tornado touched down at the far west end of Atlantic Beach between 6:30 and 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20, the National Weather Service confirmed. Radar, video of the waterspout coming ashore, and damage near the Sun and Surf Beach Club confirmed the touchdown, the agency said.
Sun and Surf, located in the Village of Atlantic Beach, said the tornado caused "significant damage to numerous cabanas and buildings."
V…
Feds Detail Albany Woman's Alleged Plan To Bomb State Capitol, Kill Senators For ISIS
Federal officials are detailing a New York woman's alleged plan to bomb the State Capitol, kill senators, and flee to ISIS-controlled territory in Syria.
Jessica Bowie, 35, of Albany, made her initial appearance in federal court on a charge of attempting to provide material support to ISIS, the US Department of Justice said (see criminal complaint attached at the bottom of this news story).
Bowie was arrested Wednesday, Aug. 19, as she took possession of what she believed was an explosive device intended for an attack on the New York State Capitol and state senators, authorities said. …
Albany County Man Admits Murdering Girlfriend, Triggering Adirondack Manhunt: Authorities
A New York man admitted to stabbing his girlfriend to death then fleeing last year, leading to a multicounty manhunt across the Adirondack Mountains, authorities said.
Anthony Bechand, 54, of Cohoes, copped to second-degree murder in the killing of 41-year-old Amanda Rodriguez on Sept. 13, 2025, the Albany County District Attorney’s office said.
Bechand faces 20 years to life behind bars as part of his plea deal, prosecutors said. His sentencing hearing was set for Oct. 30.
Rodriguez’s body was found Sept. 14, 2025, after a family friend walked into her home, investigators said. Cohoes Pol…
