Fugitive Apprehended After Putnam Crime Spree

PUTNAM COUNTY, N.Y. -- The Putnam County Sheriff's Department recently arrested a fugitive from North Carolina who allegedly committed several violent crimes around the county over the last two months, officials said.

The Putnam County Sheriff's Department charged a North Carolina man with several violent crimes in the area.
Photo Credit: *Putnam County Sheriff's Department*

Joe Jenkins

07/10/2014 12:00 p.m.

Kenneth W. DeFreitas, 29, of Wilmington, N.C., was arrested for allegedly committing two residential burglaries in Putnam Lake, an attempted armed robbery of the A&P food store in Southeast and an armed robbery of the Putnam County National Bank in Carmel, police said.

DeFreitas was found by the New York City Police Department in the Bronx and was taken in and held for the Putnam Sheriff's Department, according to officials.

After his arraignment, DeFreitas attempted to grab the gun from one of the investigators escorting him. He was subdued without incident but now faces additional charges of first-degree attempted escape and second-degree attempted criminal possession of a weapon, the Sheriff's Department said.

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