Man charged with murder
Victim lived in homeless encampment near roundabout, police say
TOWN OF ULSTER, N.Y. >> Police said Tuesday the victim of a killing near the roundabout Sunday night resided in a nearby homeless encampment where people have lived for the past several years.
Town of Ulster Police on Monday identified the victim as Guy Andradez, 59. Police found his body after being called to the Washington Avenue side of the traffic circle around 8 p.m. Sunday, town of Ulster Police Chief Kyle S. Berardi said.
Berardi said police do not
know of a motive for the killing.
In announcing the arrest, authorities did not say how Andradez died.
Police arrested a 36-yearold Kingston man Monday and charged him with murder in Andradez’s death, authorities said Monday night.
Lance J. Ferguson was taken into custody without incident in the city of Kingston, according to authorities. They said Ferguson had lived in the encampment in the past, but, most recently, had moved back and forth between the town of Ulster and Kingston.
Ferguson was charged with second-degree murder, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, concealment of a human corpse and tampering with physical evidence, all felonies, police said. Authorities have not disclosed the type of weapon used.
Ferguson was processed at the town of Ulster Police Department and arraigned late Monday night in town of Ulster Court. He is currently being held without bail at the Ulster County Jail.
Police said they had several interactions with Andradez in the past, including an incident on the morning of July 15, when he was arrested by town of
Ulster Police and charged with felony assault after a fight that happened off of Washington Avenue.
Police said Andradez was accused of striking a person with a rock and a frying pan. The victim was brought to HealthAlliance Hospital’s Broadway campus for treatment.
Police said Andradez was arraigned in Ulster Town Court. According to the court, he was held in the Ulster County Jail until July 18, when he was released on his own recognizance.
Berardi said police do not know of a connection between Andradez’s killing and the July incident, adding that Ferguson was not the victim in that case.
Berardi said police would occasionally get called down to the encampment, often regarding homeless men and women coming from there to a nearby Quikchek store and causing disturbances.
Berardi described the encampment as “something that requires some police activity.” He said he will speak to town and county officials in the coming weeks about coming up with a permanent solution for housing for those who live in the encampment.
On Tuesday, two town of Ulster Police SUVs were were parked on a pedestrian path that links state Route 28 to Washington Avenue. Police were keeping the public away from the area. On Monday, more than a dozen police vehicles from the Ulster Town Police Department, state police and the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office were parked in the same area.
Crime tape still cordoned off a weeded area next to a construction site for a new plaza, where officers and detectives had combed for evidence on Monday.
Before the arrest, Berardi said Monday afternoon that there was no reason to believe there was any threat to public safety.