Woman Admits Setting Fire To Hudson Valley Home With Daughter, Grandchildren Inside, DA Says Woman Admits Setting Fire To Hudson Valley Home With Daughter, Grandchildren Inside, DA Says
Woman Admits Setting Fire To Hudson Valley Home With Daughter, Grandchildren Inside, DA Says A woman has pleaded guilty to attempted arson in connection with intentionally setting fire to a Hudson Valley home with her and her grandchildren inside. Niagara County resident Itita Washington-Thompson, age 48, of Niagara, made the plea on Monday, Sept. 16, said Dutchess County District Attorney Anthony Parisi. Parisi said: "This case is a chilling example of how a domestic incident or dispute can escalate to dangerous extremes."  The incident occurred on Friday, May 24, at Hammersley Avenue in Poughkeepsie. According to officials and court documents, Washington-Thompson…
Woman From Region Charged With Setting Fire To Apartment, Police Say Woman From Region Charged With Setting Fire To Apartment, Police Say
Woman From Region Charged With Setting Fire To Apartment, Police Say A woman from the region is being held without bail after allegedly setting fire to an apartment using an accelerant. The incident occurred in Sullivan County around 5:20 p.m., on Tuesday, July 16 at the Libery Common Apartment Complex in village of Liberty. According to Liberty Police Chief Steve D'Agata, when officers arrived they found billowing smoke coming out of the residence. Firefighters were able to geet the fire under control and confirmed there were no people inside the burning structure. Liberty Fire Department D'Agataq said after a thorough police investigation by the Liber…
Girl Accused Of Setting Fire That Killed 58-Year-Old In Capital Region Girl Accused Of Setting Fire That Killed 58-Year-Old In Capital Region
Girl Accused Of Setting Fire That Killed 58-Year-Old In Capital Region A 15-year-old girl is charged with murder after allegedly setting a residential fire in the region that killed a man. Emergency crews in Columbia County responded to a Livingston home on State Route 9 on Friday, June 7, for a residential fire with people trapped inside. A male resident was pronounced dead at the scene, according to New York State Police. On Monday, June 10, investigators identified the victim as 58-year-old Edmund Metz. Following an investigation, police determined that the fire was deliberately set by a 15-year-old girl.  The teen was arrested on suspicion of second…
Man Sets Fire To Hudson Valley Home Of Trooper's Father After Getting Traffic Tickets: DA Man Sets Fire To Hudson Valley Home Of Trooper's Father After Getting Traffic Tickets: DA
Man Sets Fire To Hudson Valley Home Of Trooper's Father After Getting Traffic Tickets: DA A 26-year-old has been accused of setting fire to the Hudson Valley home of a state trooper’s father after being issued traffic tickets. According to Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler, the man, Tyler Williams, was pulled over and issued traffic tickets by a trooper while driving in Middletown on the evening of Dec. 20, 2023.  Early the next morning, a fire was started at the home of the trooper’s father in Warwick.  After a five-month investigation and the execution of over 20 judicially-authorized search warrants, largely focused on digital forensics, as well as n…
Hudson Valley Man Indicted On Murder, Concealment Of Corpse Charges, DA Says Hudson Valley Man Indicted On Murder, Concealment Of Corpse Charges, DA Says
Hudson Valley Man Indicted On Murder, Concealment Of Corpse Charges, DA Says A Hudson Valley man has been indicted with the murder of another man whom he shot to death and then drove the victim to another location and set the car on fire. Related story: Years-Long Investigation Leads To Murder Charge For Stony Point Man Rockland County resident Robert Rodriguez, age 36, of Stony Point, was arraigned on Tuesday, Feb. 27 following an indictment by a grand jury. According to Scott Waters of the Rockland County District Attorney's Office, on the evening of Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, Rodriguez shot the victim, Ronald Mann on the property at Rodriguez’s home located at 41…
Hudson Valley Man Sentenced For Burning Down Home Of Ex-Girlfriend, 2 Kids Hudson Valley Man Sentenced For Burning Down Home Of Ex-Girlfriend, 2 Kids
Hudson Valley Man Sentenced For Burning Down Home Of Ex-Girlfriend, 2 Kids A man has been sentenced to prison for arson after burning down the home of his ex-girlfriend and two young daughters in the region. Ulster County resident Timothy Benzenhoefer, age 44, of the hamlet of Malden-on-Hudson, was sentenced on Friday, May 19 to 5 to 15 years in state prison for arson which he committed as part of his ongoing domestic abuse, said the Ulster County District Attorney Office.  The fire took place on Wednesday, June 25, 2022, a few days after calling off his engagement to the victim, Benzenhoefer completely burned to the ground the home where the v…
Hudson Valley Restaurateur Sentenced For Burning Down Eatery, Endangering Others Hudson Valley Restaurateur Sentenced For Burning Down Eatery, Endangering Others
Hudson Valley Restaurateur Sentenced For Burning Down Eatery, Endangering Others A former Hudson Valley restaurateur has been sentenced to prison for intentionally burning down his restaurant and endangering the lives of his wife and first responders. Orange County resident Zef Gjurashaj, age 60, of Newburgh, was sentenced Wednesday, March 1. Gjurashaj, who was convicted by a jury in September 2022, was sentenced to 22 years to life in prison for burning down Andiamo’s Restaurant, which was located at 5025 Route 9W, in the Town of Newburgh in 2017, the Orange County DA's Office said. Prior to the trial, Gjurashaj’s co-defendant and the wife of his nephew…
Man Charged With Lighting Brush Fires Intentionally In Hudson Valley: Police Man Charged With Lighting Brush Fires Intentionally In Hudson Valley: Police
Man Charged With Lighting Brush Fires Intentionally In Hudson Valley: Police A man from Fairfield County has been charged with intentionally starting brush fires in the Hudson Valley, police said.  On Sunday, Nov. 27, police in Putnam County responded to a brush fire in Southeast on Old Milltown Road and were told by firefighters that they had responded to an unusually high number of fires in the same area over the past year, according to Putnam County Sheriff Kevin McConville.  Police then began investigating to find out if the fires were set on purpose, and with the help of an arson detection K9 from the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office, authorities real…
Northern Westchester Man Charged With Killing Stepfather, Lighting Relative's Home On Fire: DA Northern Westchester Man Charged With Killing Stepfather, Lighting Relative's Home On Fire: DA
Northern Westchester Man Charged With Killing Stepfather, Lighting Relative's Home On Fire: DA A man from Northern Westchester is charged with fatally stabbing his stepfather before lighting a relative's home on fire.  On Wednesday, Sept. 14, around 12:30 a.m., 30-year-old Shane Gilleo of Peekskill is accused of stabbing 48-year-old Edward Reeves numerous times with a knife at a residence in Peekskill on North James Street, according to a release by Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah on Thursday, Nov. 10. Reeves was taken to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, where he later died, Rocah said.  Later that day, around 11:20 a.m., Gilleo is charge…
Man Accused Of Setting Fiancé's House On Fire In Hudson Valley Man Accused Of Setting Fiancé's House On Fire In Hudson Valley
Man Accused Of Setting Fiancé's House On Fire In Hudson Valley A man from the region has been charged with allegedly intentionally setting his fiancé's home on fire. The fire took place in Ulster County around 1:45 a.m., on Saturday, June 22 in Saugerties. When Saugerties police officers and firefighters from the Saxton Fire District arrived on the scene they found a single-family home engulfed by fire, said Chief Joseph Sinagra of the Saugerties Police. Following an investigation, evidence was presented to an Ulster County grand jury who indicted Timothy Benzenhoefer, age 44, of Saugerties with causing the fire, the chief said. Benzehoefer was arred…
Police Pursue 'Persons Of Interest' After Fire Set At School In Hudson Valley Police Pursue 'Persons Of Interest' After Fire Set At School In Hudson Valley
Police Pursue 'Persons Of Interest' After Fire Set At School In Hudson Valley Police in the Hudson Valley are asking the public for. help to identify three men who were seen leaving the area of a school moments before a fire was set. The incident took place in Putnam County on Monday, Oct. 10, at the Garden Street School in the village of Brewster. According to the Brewster Police, at this time the three men are just "persons of interest," not suspects. In addition, there were two other teenage boys that were seen by witnesses leaving the school as smoke was coming out of the second-floor windows, police said. The two were seen coming out of the east side of the bu…
Owner Convicted Of Setting Fire That Destroyed Restaurant In Case Involving Westchester Woman Owner Convicted Of Setting Fire That Destroyed Restaurant In Case Involving Westchester Woman
Owner Convicted Of Setting Fire That Destroyed Restaurant In Case Involving Westchester Woman A Hudson Valley restaurant owner faces years in prison after being found guilty by a jury of setting fire to his restaurant. Zef Gjurashaj, age 60, was found guilty on Monday, Sept. 26 by a jury on all counts including arson, reckless endangerment, and insurance fraud, among others, for setting fire to Andiamo’s Restaurant in the town of Newburgh, said Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler Prior to the trial, Gjurashaj’s co-defendant, Marina Gjurashaj, age 38, of Yonkers, who is the wife of his nephew, pled guilty for her role in setting the fire. As part of her plea agree…