In the courts
The following items are based on information provided by officials in law enforcement and the criminal justice system.
Ulster County Court
· Assault: Scott Bain, 58, of 173-1⁄2 Ten Broeck Ave., Kingston, was sentenced by Judge Donald A. Williams on Feb. 8 to six years in prison for felony assault. Bain was arrested Jan. 20 by Kingston police who responded to a reported assault at the home of a 43-year-old man who had been stabbed several times in the body and head. The injured man’s name was not released and police at the time said his injuries did not appear life-threatening. An investigation had determined that Bain and the man who was stabbed were involved in a dispute over living arrangements in the building where they lived in separate apartments. An order of protection was issued on behalf of Bain’s victim. A notice of appeal was filed on Bain’s behalf on Feb. 17.
· Aggravated family offense/criminal contempt:
Carlos Diggs, 28, of Kingston, was sentenced by Williams on March 31, to three consecutive sentences of three and one half to seven years, two to four years and one and one third to three years in state prison, respectively, for the felonies of aggravated criminal contempt, criminal contempt and aggravated family offense. Diggs was arrested on Jan. 17, 2016, on charges of criminal contempt and endangering the welfare of a child. He was indicted in February 2016 on five felony counts of criminal contempt, 45 felony counts of aggravated family offense, felony aggravated criminal contempt, and two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child. An appeal was filed by the Ulster County Public Defender’s Office on Diggs’ behalf in April. Additional information was unavailable.
· Failure to register as a sex offender: Tsedai McComb, 39, of Kingston, was sentenced by Williams on Feb. 8 to one and one half to four and one half years in state prison for the felony of failing to register as a sex offender. McComb was arrested by Ulster County Sheriff’s deputies on April 26, 2016 and was indicted in May 2016. A notice of appeal was filed on McComb’s behalf on Feb. 17.
· DWI: Devindra Ramgobin, 26, of Ozone Park, was sentenced by Williams on Feb. 22 to one to three years in state prison for felony drunken driving and was ordered to use an ignition interlock device after release from prison. Ramgobin was arrested on Jan. 28, 2016 and was initially charged with drunken driving, aggravated unauthorized driving, circumventing a court-ordered ignition interlock device and fleeing a police officer. Ramgobin pleaded guilty to felony drunken driving on Sept. 27, 2016.
· DWI: Kattie Joseph, 28, of Big Indian, was sentenced by Williams on Feb. 22 to 60 days in the Ulster County Jail and five years of probation, and ordered to pay fines and install an ignition interlock device, for felony drunken driving. Joseph was arrested on March 25, 2016, by Shandaken police and was originally charged with three felony counts of aggravated drunken driving under Leandra’s Law, three misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child, the misdemeanors of leaving the scene of a personal injury accident and reckless driving, and multiple traffic infractions. The children in the pickup she was driving were 1, 6 and 9 years old. Joseph was indicted for felony drunken driving in July 2016.
· DWI: Gregory Tietje, 38, of Lagrangeville, was sentenced by Williams on Feb. 24 to two to six years in state prison for felony drunken driving. Additionally, Tietje’s license was revoked and he was ordered to install an ignition interlock device. Tietje was arrested by Lloyd police on May 9, 2016, and was originally charged with the felonies of drunken driving, aggravated drunken driving with a child and aggravated unlicensed driving, and with the misdemeanors of endangering the welfare of a child, driving without a court-ordered ignition interlock device and driving with a revoked or suspended registration, along with traffic violations. He pleaded guilty to felony drunken driving on Sept. 23, 2016.
· Possession of controlled
substance: Nicholas Keller, 23, of Tillson, was sentenced by Williams to a one-year conditional discharge on March 10 for the misdemeanor of possession of a controlled substance. Keller was arrested by members of the Ulster County Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team on Nov. 7, 2015, in connection with an incident on June 16, 2015. He was initially charged with the felonies of sale and possession of a controlled substance (LSD) after an investigation of drugs sales in the towns of Ulster and Hurley.
· Parole violation: Nicole Halter, 33, of Accord, was sentenced by Williams on Feb. 1 to one year in the Ulster County Jail for violating probation.
· Grand larceny: Taryn Hinton, 38, address unavailable, was sentenced by Williams to pay $12,061 in restitution to the Ulster County Probation Department stemming from a charge of grand larceny in the town of New Paltz, a felony. Hinton waived indictment on March 28, 2016. Additional information was unavailable.
· DWI: Jessica Port, 37, of Saugerties, was sentenced by Williams on Feb. 22 to a one year conditional discharge for misdemeanor drunken driving, had her license revoked, was ordered to install an ignition interlock device and was ordered to pay a fine. Port was arrested by Woodstock police on July 13, 2013, for driving with a blood-alcohol content of 0.17 percent, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
· DWI: Peter Horniceki, 46, address unavailable, was sentenced by Williams on Feb. 6 to six months in the Ulster County Jail , ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and fees and sentenced to five years of probation for felony drunken driving. Horniceki was arrested on Aug. 25, 2015. Additional information was unavailable.
· Aggravated family offense: Troy Schmidt, 40, of Ellenville, was sentenced by Williams on Feb. 8 to two to four years in state prison for the felony of aggravated family offense. He was issued an order of protection on behalf of his victim and ordered to pay fines and fees. Schmidt was arrested on June 30, 2016, following multiple arrests over three days earlier that month on felony strangulation, unlawful imprisonment and aggravated family offense charges as well as misdemeanor charges of assault and obstruction of breathing earlier that month. Schmidt pleaded guilty to aggravated family offense. The Ulster County Public Defender’s Office filed an appeal on his behalf on March 1. · Promoting prostitution: Gregory C. Williams, 39, of Kingston, was sentenced Feb. 23 by Williams to two and one third to seven years in state prison for the felony of promoting prostitution. Williams was also ordered to pay fines and an order of protection was issued on behalf of his victim. Williams was arrested on April 10, 2016, by the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office Family and Child Advocacy Center, which comprises investigators from the district attorney’s office, the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office and state police, with assistance from Kingston police and investigators from Chesapeake, Va. He was initially charged with disseminating indecent material to a minor, promoting prostitution and offering a false instrument for filing. On Dec. 9, 2015, the Child Advocacy Center began investigating a report that a 16-year-old girl was being abused in Ulster County, Long Island and Virginia, authorities said after Williams’ arrest. Their investigation found that Williams had a sexual relationship with the minor and was trafficking her as a prostitute.
· Attempted promotion of
contraband in prison: Gary Frazier, 26, address unavailable, was sentenced by Williams on Feb. 10, to two to four years in state prison for the felony of attempted promotion of contraband in prison. He was also ordered to pay fines. Additional information was unavailable.
· DWAI-drugs: Steven M. Mills, 32, of Wallkill, was sentenced by Williams on March 8 to one to three years in state prison for the felony of driving while ability-impaired by drugs. Mills was arrested on Dec. 2, 2014, by state police at Gardiner. He filed a notice of appeal on March 22, 2017.