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Saugerties Police said that 24-year-old Jairo A. Gonzalez-Palma fled the scene after startling the woman awake after the September incident.
Following an investigation, Gonzalez-Palma, identified by police as a transient Guatemalan citizen, was arrested on Thursday, Oct. 8 and charged with the felony of second-degree burglary and the misdemeanor of forcible touching.
In August of 2018, Gonzalez was arrested on two occasions for breaking into the Main Street home of his ex-girlfriend, who had a restraining order against him. On one occasion, he subjected his victim to unwanted physical contact; on the other, the same victim found him lying in her bed.
In June of this year, Gonzalez-Palma allegedly broke into the home of and argued with a victim, who he had previously been in a domestic relationship with, living on Pine Grove School Road. He accrued charges for burglary, providing police with a false name, an aggravated family offense and for breaking a court-mandated restraining order in doing so.
The subsequent month, residents of Pine Grove School Road reportedly told police that Gonzalez-Palma had attempted to break into the home through a window. Again, he provided police with a false name.
Gonzalez-Palma was released, per New York's bail reform laws, after his arraignment until his sentencing in the Village of Saugerties Court.
Saugerties Police Chief Joe Sinagra said that Gonzalez-Palma's release was "another sad example of how bail reform is failing."
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