Man who was freed after appeal charged with felony

A Stone Ridge man who was released from state prison on a technicality in June 2019 is facing a felony charge for allegedly breaking into a garage on state Route 32, according to the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office.

Travis Eggleston, 32, had served four years of a sixyear sentence for possession of a sawed-off shotgun when he was released on June 12, 2019.

Early Tuesday morning, Eggleston was arrested by deputies and charged with the felony of criminal mischief and the misdemeanor of trespass after deputies responded to a report of a man in a garage, according to a press release from the Sheriff’s Office.

Eggleston allegedly broke into the garage in Rosendale and caused more than $250 in damage, Lt. Abram Markiewicz said Wednesday.

Eggleston pleaded guilty in late 2015 to breaking into another Rosendale property while in possession of a sawed-off shotgun, and he was sent to prison in March 2016.

But following a June 6, 2019, unanimous decision by the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court Appellate, Third Judicial Department, Eggleston was released from prison and his criminal record was expunged.

Michael J. Kavanagh, who was Ulster County’s chief assistant district attorney at the time, said last June that Eggleston’s record was expunged on a “100 percent technicality.”

At trial, Kavanagh said, the prosecutor’s office and then-County Judge Donald A. Williams disagreed over whether the charging documents in the case were properly prepared.

“Who’s right is not clear,” Kavanagh said.

In its decision, the appellate court said an Ulster County grand jury indicted Eggleston in July 2015 on a felony charge of criminal possession of a weapon. He pleaded guilty to that charge in December 2015 with a commitment from the court that he would be sentenced to five years in prison, according to the appellate court.

Then, following a recess and with the consent of Eggleston’s defense counsel, the indictment was amended and Eggleston again pleaded guilty.

After a second recess, all parties agreed the indictment would be dismissed and replaced by a superior court information, or SCI, charging Eggleston with the same crime.

Eggleston pleaded guilty for a third time, and Williams again agreed to impose a five-year prison sentence and five years of postrelease supervision, the appellate ruling said.

But at Eggleston’s sentencing in March 2016, Williams said he was “no longer willing to impose a sentence of five years, offered [Eggleston] the opportunity to withdraw his guilty plea and indicated that, if defendant did not withdraw his guilty plea, [Williams] would sentence him to a prison term of six years, to be followed by five years of post-release supervision,” the ruling states.

Eggleston declined to withdraw his plea and pleaded guilty for a fourth time. He was sentenced to six years in prison.

The appeals court agreed with Eggleston’s contention on appeal that “the waiver of indictment” was defective and ordered his release.

After Tuesday’s arrest, Eggleston was released with a ticket to appear in Rosendale Town Court.