The following are recent articles as reported in The Post Star newspaper. You can visit their site by clicking on the icon below:

Schenectady man faces drug charge

Published on 12/23/2005

HUDSON FALLS -- A Schenectady man was arrested on a felony drug charge Sunday after a Coleman Avenue woman tried to kick him out of her home but he refused to leave, police said.

Gregory A. Jackson, 35, was charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a felony, the misdemeanor of resisting arrest and the non-criminal violation of harassment, Hudson Falls Police Sgt. Scott Gillis said.

Gillis said police came in contact with Jackson when the woman he had been staying with called shortly before 7 a.m. to report he refused to leave her home. When police arrived, Jackson fought with them, and when they got him into custody, they found he had 6 grams of crack cocaine, Gillis said.

Jackson was arraigned before Hudson Falls Village Justice Michael Feeder and sent to Washington County Jail without bail. Police said he has at least one prior felony conviction.

Gillis and Hudson Falls Police Patrolman Jeff Gaulin made the arrest.

Police: Four pass fake currency

T.J. HOOKER - THOOKER@POSTSTAR.COM
Computer-generated counterfeit ten dollar bills are displayed at the Hudson Falls Police Department on Thursday.

By DON LEHMAN
dlehman@poststar.com
Published on 12/23/2005

Two Hudson Falls men and their wives were arrested Wednesday on charges they passed hundreds of dollars in counterfeit money at businesses in Washington, Warren and Saratoga counties, police said.

The four used fake $5, $10 and $20 bills one of them manufactured on a scanner/copier purchased at Wal-Mart to buy food, beer, cigarettes and other items in Hudson Falls, Kingsbury, Queensbury and South Glens Falls, according to officials.

Charged were brothers Louis N. LaValley, 28, and Nathan LaValley, 23, along with Heather E. Rankin-LaValley, 24, (Nathan's wife) and Dolly L. LaValley, 28, (Louis' wife), police said.

Nathan LaValley faces a felony charge of first-degree forgery, while the other three suspects were each charged with a felony count of first-degree criminal possession.

Investigators said additional arrests are likely because they believe the LaValleys gave some of the fake money to friends.

Washington County Undersheriff Matthew Mabb said police don't know how much was distributed, because they were still receiving complaints about it from banks that have been receiving it from businesses in their deposits.

"It's still coming in today," he said. "Glens Falls National (Bank) called and said they've got it coming in through Stewart's stores."

Stewarts was one of a number of stores victimized, according to police. Police said Hess and Cumberland Farms convenience stores, Pizza Hut, Domino's Pizza, Rite Aid and Dollar General were among the others that took the counterfeit cash.

"It was quite a bit of money," said Hudson Falls Police Sgt. Scott Gillis.

The four were arrested after an investigation by the Sheriff's Department, Hudson Falls Police and U.S. Secret Service that began early this week when police started receiving complaints about fake money.

Mabb said police got a break in the case when the staff at the Hess station on Maple Street in Kingsbury recognized one of the LaValleys when bad money was passed there.

Court records allege the money was made by Nathan LaValley using a Hewlett-Packard scanner/copier.

In a sworn statement to police, he said he bought it Saturday and began making money that day, buying $35 worth of gas at the Cumberland Farms store on Maple Street in Kingsbury.

"I have been passing fake 10's and 20's for about the last week or so," Louis LaValley wrote in a statement to police filed in court.

"I told them that it looked fake and that it would never work," Dolly LaValley told police, according to her sworn statement to police.

Police said the scanner/copier was seized and its computer memory showed the money-copying. A surveillance videotape at the Dollar General store in Hudson Falls also showed Louis LaValley spending some of the counterfeit money on Sunday, court records show.

Both the LaValley men have extensive criminal records, with Nathan LaValley having just been released from state prison last month after serving two years in Florida for burglary, police said.

Nathan LaValley, Louis LaValley and Heather LaValley were all sent to Washington County Jail for lack of bail. Dolly LaValley was released on her own recognizance.

Sheriff's investigators Terry Allen and Anthony Leclaire and Hudson Falls Police Detective Curt Pedone handled the case, assisted by the U.S. Secret Service in Albany.

Police scan 800 license plates in two hours with new, high-tech gadget

By OMAR AQUIJE
oaquije@poststar.com
Published on 12/18/2005

HUDSON FALLS -- It's capable of reading license plate numbers on vehicles whipping by at speeds up to 120 mph, and then, seconds later, alerting authorities that a car is stolen or uninsured, and this new crime-fighting device was in the area Wednesday, allowing police to make several arrests.

Called the Mobile Plate Hunter 900, the device consists of a set of lenses mounted on top of a car. It feeds plate numbers to a laptop computer that is tapped into the Department of Motor Vehicles database. If there is a match, an alarm sounds, alerting police that something is amiss.

Investigators from the DMV used the camera for three hours Wednesday in the village. Once a suspicious vehicle was found, the DMV notified Hudson Falls Police, which had a patrol car nearby. As a result, 11 tickets for various vehicle and traffic violations were issued to four people, said Deputy Chief Randy Diamond.

"It's cutting-edge technology," Diamond said. "It's remarkable."

The camera also helped police catch a taxi driver operating an uninsured vehicle.

Police charged Michael R. Bauer, who was driving a Twin City Cab based out of Glens Falls, with having a revoked registration and no insurance. Bauer received the tickets instead of Twin City Cab because the driver is responsible for the condition of the vehicle, said police officer John Kibling. Bauer is due in Village Court on Dec. 22.

Made by Remington Elsag Law Enforcement Systems, the camera, using infrared technology, can scan vehicles as a police officer is driving by. Police also can monitor passing or parked vehicles while their hands remain free for driving.

The camera is designed to fit in light bars on top of a car or as a stand-alone unit attached to the roof of a car by magnetic clips, according to the Remington Web site.

In less than two hours on Wednesday, the camera scanned nearly 800 vehicles, Diamond said.

Without the camera, police have to read the numbers on the license plate and punch them into the computer.

Ken Brown, a DMV spokesman, said the camera is a good tool to crack down on fraud and theft, resulting in increased traffic safety. The DMV's investigative unit has used the camera for a month. Brown declined to say where or how often the camera would be used.

Despite its $18,000 price tag, the hi-tech device is slowly catching on. Many police agencies are hoping the cost drops -- or that grant money for such a purchase becomes available.

The New York State Police own 13 cameras, which were purchased earlier this year and are used in high-traffic areas such as Albany, Rochester, Syracuse and Buffalo. So far, the cameras have allowed troopers to recover stolen cars and license plates, as well as making numerous arrests.

"Quite frankly, the results far exceeded our initial expectations," said Lt. Col. James Schepperly of the state police.

The camera even works at night, although it can be less effective during inclement weather, Schepperly said.

Police: Man charged after forging check

Published on 12/17/2005

HUDSON FALLS -- A Fort Edward man was arrested on a felony charge Friday after he cashed a forged check at a village bank, police said.

A woman had reported she lost her checkbook and was later notified by TD Banknorth that one of her checks had been cashed in the amount of $200, Hudson Falls Police said.

Police said Nicholas G. Montelone, 20, was questioned and admitted to cashing the check, which he made out to himself. Police charged Montelone, of 19 Taylor St., Fort Edward, with second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, a felony.

The remaining checks were recovered, but the money is still outstanding, police said.

Montelone was arraigned on Friday and sent to the Washington County Jail for lack of $750 bail.

The arrest was made by Hudson Falls Patrolman Scott Moulthrop.

BONNIE NAUMANN - BNAUMANN@POSTSTAR.COM
Luke VanScoy, 17, left, 'Banana Boy' Chris Phelps, 20, and his cameraman brother, Jonathan Phelps, 27, stand outside the Hudson Falls Village Hall and Police Department after each was sentenced Thursday to 40 hours of community service and a $100 fine.

Busted banana starts media frenzy

Banana Boy, (Chris Phelps) enters the studio space at TV-8 in Glens Falls to address the media about Thursday's arrest.

By DON LEHMAN
dlehman@poststar.com
Published on 12/10/2005

The gunpoint takedown of Banana Boy seems to have a lot of media appeal. Or is it, a-peel?

Television networks from around the country sought out the young men involved in Thursday's fruit fiasco in which three young men shooting a television show -- one wearing a giant banana costume -- found themselves under arrest at gunpoint.

"It's been wild. We've gotten calls from CNN, Fox News in New York City, all over the place," said Hudson Falls Police Sgt. Todd Lemery.

The trio came under police scrutiny because they were staging a fight scene that involved a man with a fake plastic knife pretending to stab a banana-clad actor playing the part of mythical superhero Banana Boy. They were shooting the scene for a TV-8 show called "The Ravacon."

The melee in a vacant Main Street lot stopped traffic, and a crowd watching drew the attention of passing Washington County Sheriff's Deputy Shawn Lovelace.

When Lovelace stopped his car, one of the gawkers yelled, "He's stabbing him," prompting Lovelace -- who did not know the men involved were acting for a television show -- to order the three to the ground at gunpoint.

Police charged the three -- South Glens Falls residents Chris Phelps, Jonathan Phelps and Luke Van Scoy -- with disorderly conduct for causing a commotion and not letting police know they were acting out the scene. Chris Phelps was playing Banana Boy, Van Scoy his attacker and Jonathan Phelps was filming it.

Washington County district attorney Robert Winn said Friday he likely wouldn't seek convictions in the case.

Van Scoy and Chris Phelps said their phones were abuzz Friday after an article in The Post-Star about their arrests. They held a press conference Friday afternoon at the TV-8 studios, but semeed to be taking their newfound fame in stride.

"We've been getting so many calls," 17-year-old Van Scoy said.

They spent much of the day working to finish editing "The Ravacon" episode that was interrupted Thursday afternoon. It is to be broadcast today at 11 p.m.

Though much of it was captured on tape, they said they likely won't include the run-in with police, since it wasn't part of the story of Banana Boy's crime-fighting exploits.

"The show is a sequence of stories, and Banana Boy is now fighting the bad guys," Chris Phelps said.

The men are members of Nice Guys Productions, a troupe of young filmmakers who in 2002 won awards in a statewide contest for some of their work.

Disorderly conduct is a non-criminal violation equal to a traffic ticket. They're due in court Thursday to answer the charges.

Winn said his office probably wouldn't seek convictions against them, likely agreeing to drop the charges if the defendants understand they should have advised police of what they were doing.

"It would seem to be a case where we would adjourn it in contemplation of dismissal," he said.

Lovelace spent Friday afternoon returning media phone calls, and said he heard the run-in being the subject of joking on Albany radio station PYX-106 Friday morning.

"If you can't laugh when you go to work, why go to work?" he said. "Luckily, the situation turned out to be something we could laugh about."

NATHAN PALLACE - NPALLACE@POSTSTAR.COM
Banana Boy, also known as Chris Phelps, is picked up by his father, Richard, from the Hudson Falls police station Thursday afternoon after being arrested on disorderly conduct charges. Phelps was arrested during a film shoot of a fight scene for his TV8 show, which was mistaken for the real thing.

Man charged in truck crash

Published on 11/27/2005

HUDSON FALLS - A Dix Avenue man was charged with a misdemeanor count of driving while intoxicated and a count of failure to keep right after his pickup truck crashed through a fence on Allen Street.

A 2003 Ford Ranger driven by Truman H. Morgan, 48, was travelling south when the vehicle went off the road and drove through a chain link fence in front of G L & V at 3:02 p.m., Hudson Falls police said. When police arrived, the vehicle was hanging over an embankment with a cement barrier preventing it from overturning, police said.

No injuries were reported.

Following field sobriety tests, Morgan was taken into custody. He later tested over three times the legal limit with a 0.25 percent blood alcohol content level, police said.

Morgan, of 1092 Dix Ave., was released pending a court hearing in Hudson Falls Village Court.

The arrest was made by Patrolman John Kibling.

Man charged with DWI in crash

Published on 11/24/2005

HUDSON FALLS -- A village man was charged with driving while intoxicated after he drove a car into a tree early Wednesday, injuring a teen in the car with him, police said.

Jason A. Gitto, 33, of Lower Main Street was arrested after the 5:15 a.m. collision at the intersection of John and Sumpter streets, said Hudson Falls Deputy Police Chief Randy Diamond.

Gitto was not hurt, but Nicole Haley, 19, of Main Street, Hudson Falls, was taken to Glens Falls Hospital, where she was treated and released.

Gitto was charged with misdemeanor DWI and the traffic violation of failure to keep right. He was released pending prosecution in Hudson Falls Village Court.

The case was investigated by Hudson Falls Police patrolmen John Kibling and David Willis.

Traffic stop leads to drug bust

Published on 11/17/2005

HUDSON FALLS -- A Schenectady man was arrested Tuesday night on a felony drug charge after police pulled his car over for having an object hanging from its rear-view mirror, officials said.

Donnell J. Stanley, 32, was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance after the 7:22 p.m. traffic stop on Delaware Avenue, said Hudson Falls Police Sgt. Scott Gillis.

Police said they found 13 grams of crack cocaine in one of his sneakers, and they have learned Stanley -- a two-time felon -- was in the area to sell the drug.

"We believe he was one of the bigger dealers in the area," Gillis said.

Stanley was also charged with the misdemeanor of resisting arrest because he tried to run from officers as he was being taken into custody, police said.

Gillis said police were taking Stanley to the village police station because he did not have a driver's license. When officers were searching him before he was put in a patrol car, he tried to run off but was tackled within a few feet, Gillis said.

He was arraigned before Hudson Falls Village Justice Michael Feeder and sent to the Washington County Jail without bail.

It is illegal to have objects hanging from a car mirror, Gillis said. When police searched Stanley, they found two tickets issued to him by Schenectady Police in recent days for the same violation.

Gillis, Hudson Falls Police Patrolman Dave Willis and Glens Falls Police Detective Sgt. Lloyd Swartz investigated the case.

-Don Lehman

Man crashes allegedly stolen car

By DON LEHMAN
lehman@poststar.com
Published on 11/16/2005

HUDSON FALLS -- A Putnam man was arrested early Tuesday after he allegedly stole a car, crashed it into another vehicle, then ran from the crash scene, police said.

The man, identified as Jeffrey A. Smith, 21, of county Route 2, was caught about 45 minutes after the car he was driving slammed into another at the intersection of Maple and Center streets, Hudson Falls Deputy Police Chief Randy Diamond said.

Hudson Falls Police Sgt. Todd Lemery and Patrolman Scott Moulthrop arrested him after he apparently fled to the Cumberland Farms store on Main Street to call a relative for a ride, Diamond said.

Smith apparently stole the car after a dispute with a family member who was giving him a ride home from Glens Falls Hospital, Diamond said. Smith had been taken to the hospital for treatment of an unspecified medical problem, Diamond said.

The family member was giving him a ride home when he got out of the car shortly after 6 a.m. and apparently stole a different car minutes later from the vicinity of Trotters Court, police said. He was a block away when he went through a stop sign and hit another vehicle broadside, Diamond said. He then climbed through a window of the car to escape the wreckage, Diamond said.

The driver of the vehicle he hit, Yvonne Rock, of Route 196, Kingsbury, was taken to Glens Falls Hospital where she was treated and released.

Smith was charged with fourth-degree grand larceny, a felony, and the misdemeanors of leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, unlicensed operation and the traffic violation of failure to stop at a stop sign.

He was arraigned in Hudson Falls Village Court and was sent to Washington County Jail for lack of bail.

EMT attacked in moving ambulance

Hudson Falls | Teen allegedly slips restraints and hits volunteer

By DON LEHMAN
dlehman@poststar.com
Published on 11/16/2005

HUDSON FALLS -- An emergency medical technician with the Fort Edward Rescue Squad was hurt Monday night when a drunken teenage patient being transported in the back of an ambulance attacked him, police said.

The EMT, identified as Eric Fuller of Glens Falls, suffered facial injuries that included cuts, bruises and swelling when the 16-year-old from Massachusetts punched Fuller as he was finishing a telephone conversation with emergency dispatchers, police said.

The patient, identified in court records as Jason M. Miles of North Adams, Mass., had freed himself from restraints on an ambulance gurney.

That led to a scuffle that ended when the ambulance was stopped, and Hudson Falls Police were called to take Miles into custody.

Miles was charged with second-degree assault, a felony. Hudson Falls Police Deputy Chief Randy Diamond said that charge was filed under a law that automatically makes it a felony to assault an EMT.

"Some people may think (EMTs) have an easy job, but this shows that's not the case," Diamond said.

Fuller, a volunteer with the department, was treated for his injuries at Glens Falls Hospital and released. Stuart Alheim, captain of the squad, said Fuller was doing well Tuesday, and he was expected to be ready for his next scheduled shift today.

"He's a little shaken up -- a little upset -- but I talked to him this morning (Tuesday), and he's doing OK," Alheim said.

The rescue squad was called to Maple Street at about 9 p.m. in response to a report of a "male down," Diamond said.

He apparently was intoxicated and was found lying on the street, officials said.

In a written affidavit to Hudson Falls Police, Fuller said he was notifying Washington County dispatchers that the ambulance was en route to the hospital when Miles wiggled free of restraints and attacked him.

"When I turned to face him, he punched me in the side of the face," Fuller wrote.

Alheim said Fuller was able to wrestle the patient under control, and ambulance driver Kevin Harrington quickly became aware of the trouble and pulled over to assist Fuller in the scuffle before police arrived on the scene.

"They did a very nice job," Alheim said. "We do have procedures in place to deal with this, and they followed them."

Alheim said no one involved with the squad could recall a prior attack on one of its EMTs. Years ago, a squad member was apparently choked by a patient, but there has been nothing in recent memory, he said.

Miles was arraigned before Hudson Falls Village Justice Michael Feeder and sent to Washington County Jail for lack of bail.

Police said it was unclear Tuesday why he was in Hudson Falls.

"He was not real cooperative," Diamond said.

DOYLE
 

Police: Suspect had BAC of .52

HUDSON FALLS -- Hudson Falls police have come across some very intoxicated people over the years.

But the Hudson Falls woman they arrested on a burglary charge late Wednesday surpassed anything any police officer in the village, or anywhere else locally, has seen.

Police said the woman, Rebecca E. Hobbs, 39, of First Street, was found to have a blood-alcohol content of 0.52 percent when she was taken to Glens Falls Hospital after her arrest. She was charged with burglarizing an acquaintance's home and stealing jewelry Wednesday night, Hudson Falls Deputy Police Chief Randy Diamond said.

She went to the hospital during the booking process at Washington County Jail. That trip came after officers at the jail had her take a breath test that Sheriff Roger Leclaire said showed a reading of 0.47 percent.

A blood test at the hospital a short while later found that level had risen to 0.52, the sheriff said -- more than six times the legal threshold of 0.08 percent for driving while intoxicated.

"That's an extreme health hazard when someone gets to that level," Diamond said.

The content at which alcohol intoxication can become fatal depends on the person, with factors such as their size and alcohol tolerance playing a part. Police said Hobbs is known to have a severe drinking problem, and Leclaire said she's been booked at the jail in an intoxicated state in the past.

According to the University of Notre Dame's Office of Alcohol and Drug Education, 0.35 percent is equal to the level of surgical anesthesia and at 0.40 and above, risk of death begins to occur.

Leclaire said the department was working with the district attorney's office to see if it could quickly get Hobbs into an inpatient rehabilitation program.

Washington County District Attorney Robert Winn said he had never heard of a test result that high, and questioned the validity of it until hearing there was a breath test and blood test that confirmed the high level.

"I didn't know someone could survive at that level," he said.

Police officers around the region say they've arrested people whose BAC has topped 0.30 in the past, mainly drunken drivers. Warren County Sheriff Larry Cleveland said he recalled hearing of a drunken driving suspect or two whose BAC approached 0.40, but none higher than that.

Glens Falls Police Capt. Joseph Bethel said the department immediately seeks medical treatment when they believe a person they come in contact with is dangerously intoxicated.

"Usually when we get them at about a point-30, we take them right to the hospital," he said.

Hobbs was still being treated at Glens Falls Hospital as of Thursday afternoon, officials said. When released, she was to be returned to the jail for lack of bail on a felony charge of second-degree burglary.

Hudson Falls Police Patrolman Jeff Gaulin and Sgt. Scott Gillis made the arrest.