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The incident took place in Sullivan County around 1 a.m., on Sunday, July 23 in the village of Liberty.
Liberty Police Department officers responded to a report of a man with a knife on School Street.
When they arrived on the scene, they found two men, ages 42, and 20, suffering from lacerations and puncture wounds to the neck and abdomen areas, said the Village of Liberty Police Chief Steven D'Agata.
Due to a lack of available ambulance services the two victims were transported by private vehicle with a Liberty Police vehicle escorting them to Garnet Health Medical Center Catskills.
Both victims were treated at Garnet Medical Center Catskills; the 20-year-old was flown by helicopter to Westchester Medical Center, and the 42-year-old was flown to Garnet Health Medical Center Middletown, D'Agata said.
Within minutes the department received reports that a third stabbing victim had left the location on School Street and was at a private residence on Chestnut Street.
Officers responded and found a 47-year-old man suffering from a stab wound to the chest. The man was transported by ambulance to Garnet Medical Center Middletown.
D'Agata said the department immediately began a criminal investigation and attempted to locate the person responsible for the stabbings.
Sgt. Austin Sauer and Det. Ryan Lowe located a man matching the suspect’s description in a wooded area off of Grant Street in the Village of Liberty.
The suspect, later identified as Darwin Banegas-Ortiz, age 38, of Liberty, was taken into custody without further incident.
A black folding utility knife used during the incident was also located, D'Agata said.
When taken into custody, Banegas-Ortiz had earlier suffered a laceration injury to his arm. He was taken to Garnet Medical Center in Middletown where he was treated and released to. officers.
During the investigation officers also learned that Banegas-Ortiz had attempted to stab a fourth person on School Street but was unsuccessful, the chief added.
Banegas-Ortiz was charged with:
- Two counts of attempted murder
- Attempted assault/first degree
- Assault/second degree
- Criminal possession of a weapon
- Mencing
Banegas-Ortiz was arraigned in the Town of Liberty Court and remanded to Sullivan County Jail without bail pending a future court appearance.
The Village of Liberty Police Department was assisted in the investigation by the Sullivan County District Attorney’s Office, the New York State Police, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office K-9 division.
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