Man guilty in case related to gun thefts
The charges against Willie Rodriguez arose from weapons being taken from a former police chief's vehicle.
One of three people charged in connection with the theft of two loaded handguns from retired Saugerties Police Chief Gregory M. Hulbert’s vehicle has been convicted, the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office said Monday.
Willie Rodriguez, 31, of Kingston, was found guilty Friday by an Ulster County Court jury of possession of a weapon and possession of a controlled substance, both felonies.
Rodriguez was charged on Dec. 22, 2017, with buying one of the weapons and with possessing 120 bags of heroin with the intent to sell.
Rodriguez was arrested when state police and the Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team (URGENT) conducted an undercover sting at a Livingston Street address in the village of Saugerties to recover the weapons. The sting resulted in the recovery of the handguns and the heroin. Arrested were Rodriguez, Skylar Eichert, 28, of Saugerties, and Gina Julian, 24, of Kingston.
Eichert, who was charged with selling the weapons, pleaded guilty to felony criminal possession of a weapon on April 23, the District Attorney’s Office said; and Julian was charged with various heroin-related crimes and pleaded guilty to felony criminal possession of a controlled substance on May 16.
The weapons — a loaded .38-caliber semiautomatic handgun and a loaded .38-caliber revolver, which were in a black Swiss Army backpack — were stolen from Hulbert’s vehicle at his home on Latham Circle in the village of Saugerties on Dec. 21, police said at the time. Also in the stolen backpack were additional ammunition, Hulbert’s police ID card, his retired chief’s badge, his security ID card and a pistol permit.
Police said they found Hulbert’s police shield, police ID and other items in a trash can not far from his home.
Hulbert was a member of the town of Saugerties Police Department for 30 years, became chief in 1991 and retired in 2008. The town and village of Saugerties had separate police departments at the time; they now have one.
Rodriguez’s sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 25 in Ulster County Court before Judge Donald A. Williams. Eichert was previously sentenced to 10 years in state prison. Julian’s sentencing is pending.