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Man charged for defrauding

Hudson Falls | Police: Suspect charged $2,000 for unnecessary repairs

Published on 5/26/2006

By DON LEHMAN
dlehman@poststar.com

HUDSON FALLS -- A 28-year-old Queensbury man was arrested Wednesday night on charges he defrauded an 81-year-old woman by charging her $2,000 for home repairs she didn't need and he didn't perform, police said.

Michael S. Burdick faces felony charges of fourth-degree grand larceny and misappropriation of funds of trust for taking money from the woman in March, Hudson Falls Police said.

Police said he stopped by the woman's Maple Street home and told her she needed roof repairs, convincing her to give him two checks totalling $2,000, police said.

He never did the work, and police were called after it was determined the home had a new roof put on within the last few years and that the contractor who did that work determined it was not in need of repairs.

Police got a warrant for Burdick's arrest, and Glens Falls Police Sgt. John Winchell spotted Burdick in the city and arrested him.

Burdick was arraigned before Hudson Falls Village Justice Michael Feeder and was sent to Warren County Jail, police saying he has "prior felony convictions" that precluded bail being set.

State corrections records show a 28-year-old Michael S. Burdick was released from state prison in February after serving nearly 6 years on a drug charge.

Hudson Falls Police Patrolman Jeff Gaulin, Sgt. Scott Gillis and Detective Curt Pedone investigated the case.

Police break up family 'business'

Hudson Falls | Mother and daughter arrested as cops bust drug sale

Published on 3/28/2006

By DON LEHMAN
dlehman@poststar.com

HUDSON FALLS -- An alleged mother-daughter drug-dealing duo was arrested Friday night after a raid at a John Street home, a bust that saw two men show up at the home looking to buy crack cocaine while police were there, officials said.

Police said a 20-year-old Albany woman sold crack to a police informant shortly before the raid. She had been released from state prison weeks ago after serving a sentence for selling the drug, police said.

The woman, Chastity A. Nasworthy, formerly of Glens Falls, was charged with third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, a felony, for allegedly selling about $200 worth of crack, said Hudson Falls Deputy Police Chief Randy Diamond.

Also charged was Nasworthy's mother, Sheri Larich, 49, whose address was not available. She was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a felony, in connection with 21.5 grams of crack seized from the home, Diamond said.

"That's a sizable quantity of crack for this area," Diamond said.

As police were searching the home, two would-be drug buyers showed up and wound up facing charges as well, the deputy chief said.

Nicholas Ciccone, 41, of Queensbury was charged with the misdemeanors of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, loitering and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, police said. Alex Perryman, 38, of Fort Edward was charged with misdemeanor loitering, police said.

"These guys actually pulled up as our guys and the task force officers were on the scene," Diamond said.

Nasworthy was sentenced to 3 to 9 years in state prison last March after pleading guilty to fourth-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance -- a felony, for selling the drug in Glens Falls -- and a felony sale charge in Saratoga County. Police said she sold hundreds of dollar's worth of the drug a day in Warren, Washington and Saratoga counties, often delivering it to users.

She was allowed to participate in the state's six-month shock incarceration program for nonviolent offenders, which resulted in her early release.

It was unclear Monday when she was released from prison. She was sentenced as a youthful offender, so state corrections records related to her case are sealed.

"She's been out for several months, and she was up here a lot," said Glens Falls Police Detective Sgt. Lloyd Swartz. "She was busy again."

Nasworthy and Larich were arraigned in Hudson Falls Village Court and sent to Washington County Jail for lack of bail. Ciccone and Perryman were released to appear in Village Court.

The case was investigated by Hudson Falls Police, assisted by the Northern Branch of the Capital District Drug Task Force.

Police: Man sold stolen car

Published on 3/26/2006

HUDSON FALLS -- Police on Saturday arrested a Watertown man who allegedly stole a vehicle on River Street and then sold it to a Fort Drum soldier.

Anthony J. Grant, 19, allegedly stole a 1988 Honda Civic from a former friend of his on River Street on Feb. 15, Hudson Falls Police Sgt. Todd Lemery said. Grant drove the car to his home in Watertown and sold it to a Fort Drum soldier.

"The soldier was in the process of getting discharged and was just looking for a car to drive back to Oklahoma," Lemery said. "When he went to register the vehicle, he was very surprised it came up stolen, and he reported it to the military police."

An investigation by Hudson Falls Patrolman John Kibling, Watertown-based State Police and Fort Drum Military Police led back to Grant, Lemery said.

Police charged Grant with fourth-degree grand larceny, a felony. Grant was arraigned in Hudson Falls Village Court and sent to Washington County Jail for lack of $2,500 bail.

ERIN R. COKER - COKER@POSTSTAR.COM
Hudson Falls firefighters stand by as National Grid works to shut off power Tuesday afternoon at the scene of a motor vehicle accident involving a utility pole and transformer along Depot Street in Hudson Falls. The driver was not injured, but blamed the accident on an arachnid.

Along came a spider

Hudson Falls | Woman takes out pole, transformers over arachnid scare

Published on 3/15/2006

HUDSON FALLS -- A 22-year-old South Glens Falls woman had a run of bad luck Tuesday that ultimately left her vehicle damaged and some downtown businesses temporarily without power.

Still, it could have been worse.

The woman was driving on Depot Street hill when she noticed a spider inside her vehicle, crawling down a web in front of her, police said. She veered left and struck a utility pole -- outfitted with three transformers -- that sheared off and landed in the roadway, police said.

Live wires from the pole started arcing in the road and started a grass fire on the side of the road, police said. By the time officers arrived, the woman had left her vehicle.

Police said it was fortunate none of the wires on her vehicle were live. If they had been, the woman might have been seriously injured when she touched the ground on her way out of the car.

Police did not identify the woman involved in the accident and did not return a call placed for comment Tuesday afternoon. The accident was investigated by Sgt. Mark LaFay and Patrolman Travis Earl. No tickets were issued.

National Grid, Adelphia Cable and Verizon were called to the scene of the accident to repair the utility pole. Parts of the village were without power until the repairs were completed.

The Hudson Falls Fire Department also assisted at the scene.

Drug task force seeing rise in arrests in rural areas

Police say drug dealers seek out towns, villages to help avoid detection

Published on 3/15/2006

By DON LEHMAN
dlehman@poststar.com

A Whitehall man was arrested Monday on felony drug charges, the latest in a spate of drug arrests in Washington County that police say is linked in part to better enforcement, but also to a move by drug dealers to seek rural areas where they think there is less police presence.

Edward J. "Spud" Corey, 59, of 73 William St., was charged with the felonies of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and first-degree criminal nuisance after a Monday afternoon raid at his home, Whitehall Police Chief Richard LaChapelle said.

Police seized 18 bags of cocaine, equal to about 18 grams of the drug, he said. Police believe he has been selling the drug in the village of Whitehall for several months, going to Albany and New York City to get it, LaChapelle said.

His arrest was at least the ninth felony drug arrest related to cocaine or heroin trafficking in the county since late July, a rise that authorities have attributed in part to better enforcement efforts by the Northern Branch of the Capital District Drug Task Force. The Northern Branch of the task force was organized last year.

But investigators said they have also noticed a trend of drug users and dealers apparently heading to towns and villages like Fort Edward, Granville and Greenwich in an effort to avoid police detection in bigger municipalities like Glens Falls and Saratoga Springs.

Glens Falls Police Detective Sgt. Lloyd Swartz, a member of the task force, said a Broadway woman arrested last week in the village of Fort Edward on a charge she allowed her home to be used by crack dealers had moved there from Glens Falls in recent months, in part because of the smaller police presence.

Drug dealers follow the users, and an Albany man who police said had 57 grams of cocaine in the woman's Broadway apartment was also arrested when she was arrested, police said.

"For whatever reason, there seems to have been that influx," Swartz said.

Swartz and Washington County Sheriff Roger Leclaire said the manpower of the new task force has allowed for more drug investigations. Swartz said Washington County Sheriff's Deputy Scott Stark has been able to generate confidential informants to allow police to get inside of drug operations and make arrests.

"I think there has been a problem there (in Washington County) for a while but they didn't have the manpower to do much," he said.

"I think we're really just seeing the tip of the iceberg," said Cambridge/Greenwich Police Chief George Bell.

Leclaire said the task force has been able to get deeper into investigations than police in the county could before.

"What has happened is the Task Force is doing better, getting a lot of reports and obtaining information from across New York state," the sheriff said.

Washington County District Attorney Kevin Kortright said the new task force has improved investigative efforts. But he said the trend of drug dealers moving to municipalities where they perceive there is less police protection is likely also a factor in the recent arrests.

"If things get hot in Glens Falls, they move over here to Hudson Falls or Fort Edward," he said. "As soon as it gets hot here, they move back. We've seen it before."

Corey was arraigned in Whitehall Village Court and sent to Washington County Jail without bail. LaChapelle said the investigation was continuing.

Pair charged after raid on apartment

Published on 3/10/2006

FORT EDWARD -- Two people were in jail Thursday after four police agencies converged on a Broadway apartment where they seized 57 grams of cocaine and $900 in cash.

The drugs -- with an estimated street value of $6,000 -- and cash, along with cellular telephones and various other items, were found after police executed a search warrant at 117 Broadway at approximately 2:30 p.m. Thursday, police said.

Jamar O. Brown, 30, of Kent Street in Albany, was charged with two felony counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and was sent to the Washington County Jail for lack of $50,000 cash bail or $100,000 bond.

Alisha N. Ramsey, 29, of 117 Broadway, Apartment 7, was charged with third-degree possession of a controlled substance and first-degree criminal nuisance, both felonies. She was sent to Washington County Jail for lack of $25,000 cash bail or $50,000 bond.

Fort Edward Police, Hudson Falls Police, Glens Falls Police and the Washington County Sheriff's Department cooperated in the investigation and arrest, police said.

Two hurt in Hudson Falls crash

Published on 3/9/2006

By MADELINE FARBMAN
mfarbman@poststar.com

HUDSON FALLS -- Two people were injured in a three-car accident Wednesday night, police said. One driver was taken to Glens Falls Hospital with back pain, and a passenger complaining of head pain was evaluated at the scene.

Jayme Grimmer, 18, of 37 Country Acres Drive, did not see traffic stopped in front of her while driving on Route 4 near Beech Street, and her car collided with a van stopped in traffic, police said. The van was driven by Norman O. Chase, 72, of 5318 county Route 113, Greenwich. The collision pushed the van forward into a third vehicle, driven by Michael P. Straight, 26, of Ash Street, Corinth.

Grimmer was transported to the hospital by the Fort Edward EMS. A passenger in the van with Chase, Alice M. Chase, 70, complained of head pain, but declined to be taken to the hospital. Fort Edward EMS evaluated her at the scene.

Route 4 between John and Beech streets was closed for about 45 minutes.

Grimmer's car was towed from the scene due to damage from the collision.

Three Hudson Falls residents accused of passing counterfeit money around the region in December have been indicted on felony charges.

Louis N. LaValley, 28; his wife, Dolly L. LaValley, 28; and Heather E. Rankin-LaValley, 24, all face counts of first-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument.

Louis LaValley and Heather Rankin-LaValley also face misdemeanor charges of petit larceny in cases in which they were accused of using the money to buy cigarettes and food.

Meanwhile, the man who police believe manufactured the fake bills using a home computer appears to be near a plea deal in the case. He was not named in the indictment.

Court records show Nathan LaValley, 23, was scheduled to plead guilty Tuesday, but court officials were unable to determine whether he had a prior felony conviction in Florida. So the hearing was postponed. The length of his sentence in the counterfeit case depends in part on whether he is a predicate felon.
 

Police: Man violated ex-girlfriend's order of protection, holding her against will

Published on 3/6/2006

GLENS FALLS -- A Granville man was arrested Sunday after police said he violated an order of protection by approaching his ex-girlfriend outside a bar and keeping her from leaving the area.

Mark A. Ross, 26, of Route 22, was charged with first-degree criminal contempt, a felony, and with second-degree unlawful imprisonment, a misdemeanor.

Police said Ross saw his girlfriend at the Daily Double Bar on South Street on Saturday night and tried to approach her. When she exited through the back door, Ross followed her. He caught up with her outside and allegedly held her against her will.

The woman had an order of protection against Ross at the time of the incident.

When police arrested him, they discovered Ross was wanted by the Warren County Sheriff's Department on a charge of disorderly conduct for a separate incident.

Ross was taken to the Sheriff's Department, where he was arraigned. He was brought back to city police Sunday to be processed and arraigned on the new charges.

Ross was remanded to the Warren County Jail in lieu of $10,000 cash or $20,000 bond. He is due in court Tuesday.

Doyle gets the maximum

Toolbox murderer gets 25-to-life; Judge regrets lack of death penalty

T.J. HOOKER - THOOKER@POSTSTAR.COM
Susan Neff glares at convicted murderer Shawn Doyle, while reading her victim impact statement during Doyle's sentencing hearing Friday at Washington County Court in Fort Edward.

T.J. HOOKER - THOOKER@POSTSTAR.COM
Shawn Doyle, left, looks at Judge Philip Berke in what Burke described as a 'smirk,' while sentencing him to 25-years-to-life in prison for the murder of Lori A. Leonard. Doyle's lawyer, Jeffrey McMorris, stands next to Doyle.

T.J. HOOKER - THOOKER@POSTSTAR.COM
Shawn Doyle, left, sits with his lawyer, Jeffrey McMorris, as they listen to Judge Philip Berke as he sentences Doyle to 25-years-to-life in prison for the murder of Lori A. Leonard.

By DON LEHMAN
dlehman@poststar.com
Published on 3/4/2006

FORT EDWARD -- Washington County Judge Philip Berke wished the death penalty upon Shawn M. Doyle before sentencing him Friday to the maximum prison term for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, capping a tearful, hour-long proceeding that saw five members of the victim's family confront Doyle.

"I can only hope during your many, many years in prison that you are shown the same mercy you showed (victim) Lori Leonard and you suffer the way she suffered," Berke told Doyle.

Berke imposed a prison term of 25-years-to-life in the case, repeatedly telling the parole board that he believes Doyle should never be released from prison for Leonard's killing.

The judge also levied a $5,000 fine, money that will come from Doyle's prison commissary account if it is not paid through other means.

Doyle prompted an angry rebuke from the judge when he asked if the fine "could be paid today." Berke called Doyle arrogant and chastised him for smirking through much of the hearing.

Doyle, 30, of Hudson Falls, did not otherwise speak during the proceeding, declining the opportunity Berke gave him to make a statement.

Five of Leonard's relatives, including her older sister, read more than 40 minutes' worth of victims' impact statements that moved some of the police officers in the court gallery to tears. Many of those statements related how Leonard's two young boys have been devastated by their mother's death.

In one statement, Leonard's cousin Kyle Leonard recounted how Lori Leonard's then-5-year-old son prayed near his mother's ashes during her wake last summer.

Lori Leonard's sister, Jennifer Leonard, also read letters both boys wrote to the court with remembrances of their mother. Lori Leonard's son Austin, 9, called her "the best mom in the world," while Zackary, now 6, recalled how he made meatballs with her and how she cut his bologna sandwiches in squares.

"Mommy was always nice to me and I miss her and I pray to her when I go to sleep," Zackary wrote. "I want to say I love her very much and I hate Shawn."

"Me and my whole family want Shawn to die in jail," Austin wrote.

The family's other statements also included choice words for Doyle, with those who spoke at the sentencing calling him "animal," "not human," "cowardly beast" and "it," among other names.

"The terror this man caused shall come back to him," Kyle Leonard read. "I hope Lori haunts you for the rest of your life."

"On May 4 Lori was taken from us. On May 4, our world was turned upside down," Jennifer Leonard wrote.

Berke's imposition of the maximum prison term and fine drew applause from Leonard's family, some of whom also cursed Doyle as he was taken from court.

Doyle was found guilty of second-degree murder in the May 4 killing of Leonard, 33, of central New York. The two had dated on and off after meeting on an Internet dating Web site.

He used duct tape to bind and suffocate her, then put her body in a truck toolbox and dumped it in the Champlain Canal in Kingsbury.

"It was death by duct tape," Washington County District Attorney Kevin Kortright told Berke. "I can't think of a worse way to die."

A boater found the box July 23.

A jury convicted Doyle after less than three hours of deliberation on Jan. 26.

Kortright had asked for the $5,000 fine, saying it would make Doyle's time in prison less comfortable because the money would be taken from his commissary account until it was paid.

"That's going to stop him from having those little pleasures in jail," Kortright said.

Doyle's lawyer, Jeffrey McMorris, called the sentence "about what we expected," and said the conviction would be appealed. He also said Doyle "feels sorry for the loss of Lori Leonard," but maintains he did not kill her.

"He's been consistent from day one that he had nothing to do with this crime," McMorris said.

Doyle will not be eligible for parole until July 2030.

New York no longer has a death penalty law.

Domestic dispute sentencing postponed by new arrest

Police: Already facing prison, man kicks in ex-girlfriend's door

Published on 2/15/2006

By DON LEHMAN
dlehman@poststar.com

HUDSON FALLS -- Committing a crime on your last day of freedom generally does not sit well with the judge.

Donald E. Manney found that out Tuesday as Washington County Judge Philip Berke was preparing to sentence him to prison for a felony conviction in a September knifepoint domestic dispute.

Manney had been free on bail pending the sentencing -- until Hudson Falls Police arrested him earlier Tuesday on burglary and criminal contempt charges for allegedly kicking in his ex-girlfriend's apartment door and going into her home.

She was the victim in the September case as well.

That new arrest resulted in Berke refusing to sentence Manney on Tuesday and postponing the case until Feb. 24 for consolidation of the cases. Manney had pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal contempt and was to receive a state prison sentence of 1-1/2 to 3 years.

In the Tuesday incident, police went to the 29 Main St. home of his ex-girlfriend at 3:36 a.m. after receiving a 911 call. The apartment door and casing were heavily damaged, said Hudson Falls Deputy Police Chief Randy Diamond.

The woman who lives there, Jessie Cook, was "less than cooperative" with police, but officers found Manney hiding under a bed and took him into custody without further incident, Diamond said.

The Sept. 18 incident had also happened at 29 Main St.

Police said Manney had been accused of holding Cook and the couple's young child against their will and threatening them with a knife. He fled the apartment and was the subject of a weeklong manhunt before he was arrested hiding at a home in Gansevoort.

Manney faces a felony charge of second-degree burglary and misdemeanor count of second-degree criminal contempt in the Tuesday break-in, Diamond said. He was arraigned in Village Court and sent to Washington County Jail for lack of bail.

The Tuesday case was investigated by Hudson Falls Police Sgt. Scott Gillis and Patrolman Jeff Gaulin.

Dispatch debate still on

Benefits of consolidation still unclear

NATHAN PALLACE - NPALLACE@POSTSTAR.COM
The Hudson Falls Police Department communications room, where the police dispatcher receives emergency calls as well as tends the department's front door, sits empty for a moment Tuesday evening. If a Washington County dispatch consolidation program goes through, the room could be empty for good.

NATHAN PALLACE - NPALLACE@POSTSTAR.COM
Computer and surveillance equipment lines counters Tuesday evening at the Hudson Falls Police Department's communications room. The Hudson Falls dispatcher wears many hats at the department.

By BONNIE NAUMANN
bnaumann@poststar.com
Published on 2/15/2006

HUDSON FALLS -- As a dispatcher radioed out from the police department to an officer on the road, the scanner picked up sounds of a man and wife arguing. The couple had brought a domestic dispute down to the village police department.

"In the background, you could hear the screaming and yelling," said Trustee Rick Wagner, who was riding along with a village police officer at the time.

If the village decides to shut down its dispatch center and forward 911 calls to Washington County, Wagner said he was worried about what could happen if no one was around to answer the door at the village police department.

"We'll have to hire someone to be in the office," Wagner said.

A resident brought up the issue at last month's board meeting, and papers on the same matter were circulated among residents before the Republican and Democratic caucuses for the upcoming village election.

If the village continues to maintain an independent dispatch system, it could cost residents additional money, and if the county takes on the responsibility, it could mean additional taxes countywide.

On May 31, the village's contract with the Police Benevolent Association will be up for renewal, officials said.

A draft report written in 2003 by the Office of the State Comptroller said the village could prevent future fiscal problems by utilizing county dispatch services at no additional cost to taxpayers.

The draft report also stated the village would have to renegotiate the union contract, and arrange alternative methods for other services provided by dispatchers.

The office also sent a letter to the village in November 2003, which stated "At the completion of our survey, we determined that dispatching services was an area of potential improvement that merited further attention."

However, after discussing the matter with village personnel, an official report was never issued, said Jennifer Freeman, a spokesperson at the state office.

Though the documents have been brought up in public meetings, the current board has not yet discussed renegotiating the contract, according to trustees Wagner and Kathy Varney.

"They probably should have been at the table talking already, but that hasn't happened," Varney said.

Varney said she has brought up the matter several times. She said a possible reason formal talks hadn't happened was because Mayor David Carter had curtailed his hours.

Carter applied for unemployment benefits after he was laid off Nov. 23 from his job as a machine operator at Solo Cup Co.'s Hoffmaster facility in Glens Falls. He told trustees he would be in the village hall one day a month -- to attend regular meetings -- and would delegate other responsibilities to Wagner, who also served as the deputy mayor.

Wagner said the fate of the agreement will be in the hands of the trustees who take office after the March 21 election.

If the new board starts negotiating, but is unable to meet the May 31 deadline, Chief James Clary said the previous agreement will remain in effect until another is created. Clary said negotiations typically begin about six months before a contract is up for renewal.

Eliminating the four dispatch positions would create a need for a clerical position, Clary said. Dispatchers look up records on the police database for officers on the road, complete paperwork for officers and watch a cell where offenders are held until a judge is available to do an arraignment, Clary said.

"It would virtually close down this building," Clary said.

Hudson Falls is the only jurisdiction in the county with its own dispatch center, said Bill Cook, director of the Public Safety department.

Other village departments, including Fort Edward, Granville, Greenwich, Cambridge and Whitehall, send calls through the county's Public Safety department. Several villages have a call box on the outside of the department building so residents can call 911, or push another button to page an officer they know is inside the building.

The department also directs calls for the county's rescue squads and fire departments, as well as about 12 fire and rescue squads from Vermont. The Vermont squads pay the county an annual fee, Cook said.

If Washington County were to take on the additional call volume from Hudson Falls, it could mean hiring additional dispatchers, Cook said. Cook said he would need at least one additional dispatcher on each shift to handle the Hudson Falls-related calls. The center has three shifts: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., 4 p.m. to midnight and midnight to 8 a.m., he said.

Now, dispatchers eat their lunches at their desks and have to coordinate bathroom breaks. If a storm is predicted, Cook said he brings in additional people.

"It would save money for the village, but it wouldn't for the county," Cook said.

Hudson Falls Village Board

Capsule by BONNIE NAUMANN

Meeting

* Hudson Falls Village Board, Monday night

Top story

* The board did away with a proposed resolution that would regulate communication between the board and village department heads. Subsections of an early copy of the resolution gave authority to the board, the mayor or the deputy mayor to approve whether trustees could request information from department heads. The resolution said department heads needed to be free from distraction, interference and burden of multiple requests for information.

Other news

* A public hearing was held on applying for a grant from the Governor's Office of Small Cities to fix drainage in the Mosher Hill/Derby Street neighborhood. Charles Philion from Shelter Planning and Development of Queensbury requested residents' permission to allow contractors from CT Male of Latham to build a ditch in their backyards. If funding is received in September, construction could begin in the spring, he said. Before Feb. 23, air quality at five homes will be tested. To qualify, 51 percent of residents have to meet low- or middle-income requirements, Philion said.

* The board tabled a resolution to add the Police Department's Web site www.hudsonfallspd.com to marked patrol cars. Trustee Kathy Varney said she was not in favor of the motion because the site is not village-maintained and she wondered if the comments section was a potential liability. The site is maintained by the Police Benevolent Association and the police department is able to delete comments that are deemed unacceptable, said Deputy Chief Randy Diamond. In November 2005, residents criticized trustees Varney and Brenda Ross, who had questioned the department's budget.
 

Man pleads guilty in unusual robbery

By DON LEHMAN
dlehman@poststar.com
Published on 2/14/2006

Fort Edward | Argyle man robbed store with a police officer inside

FORT EDWARD -- -- An Argyle man who robbed a Kingsbury convenience store while a police officer was in the store last September pleaded guilty Friday to a felony robbery charge.

Jason M. Cary, 22, pleaded guilty to third-degree robbery, a felony, in the Sept. 21 holdup at Cumberland Farms on Burgoyne Avenue. He likely faces a state prison sentence of between 2 and 5 years when he next appears before Washington County Judge Philip Berke on Feb. 24.

Cary admitted he went into the store early that morning, told the clerk he had a gun and demanded money.

He made off with about $50 after being chased from the store by Hudson Falls Police Patrolman Terry Root, who had been in the back of the store getting a drink from a cooler as the robbery unfolded. Cary escaped after a manhunt.

Police found Cary's girlfriend's car parked at an ice cream shop a block away and arrested him hours later at his girlfriend's home.

His girlfriend, Amber Logan, 18, of Argyle, her mother, Nancy A. Logan, 39, and Cary's father, Wesley Cary, 47, were all charged with hindering prosecution in the case for assistance police said they provided Jason Cary after the robbery. Police said the Logans allowed Jason Cary to hide in their home after the holdup, and Amber Logan told police Cary was not there, authorities said. Police searched the home later the day of the robbery and found Cary hiding there.

Wesley Cary was charged because he gave his son a ride to Argyle from the Hudson Falls area after his son escaped police.

Washington County prosecutors dropped the charge against the elder Cary because he testified against his son when the case was presented to a Washington County grand jury last fall.

Each of the Logans pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of hindering prosecution and were fined $250.

Jason Cary's lawyer, John Oswald, plans to ask that his client be allowed to serve his sentence in a state prison program for drug offenders.

Cary has a prior felony conviction in a burglary case, which requires him to serve a state prison sentence in the robbery case.

Jury finds Doyle guilty

Family cheers murder trial's swift verdict

NATHAN PALLACE - NPALLACE@POSTSTAR.COM
Shannon Gwilt, sister-in-law to Lori A. Leonard, reacts Thursday after the guilty verdict is read at the murder trial of Shawn M. Doyle. Doyle was found guilty of second-degree murder in Leonard's death.

NATHAN PALLACE - NPALLACE@POSTSTAR.COM
Shawn M. Doyle enters the Washington County Courtroom on Thursday shortly before jurors announced they found him guilty of murdering Lori A. Leonard.

NATHAN PALLACE - NPALLACE@POSTSTAR.COM
Jennifer Leonard, front, sister of murder victim Lori A. Leonard, and Judy Barnwell, Leonard's cousin, react while speaking to the press Thursday after the jury announced they found Shawn M. Doyle guilty of murdering Leonard.

By DON LEHMAN
dlehman@poststar.com
Published on 1/27/2006

FORT EDWARD -- The roar was probably heard all the way west to Lori Leonard's hometown of Chittenango.

It came as the jury foreman in the murder case against Shawn M. Doyle replied "guilty" minutes after 4 p.m. Tuesday, indicating the jury had found that Doyle killed Leonard last spring.

The verdict set off a half-hour-long eruption of cheers, hugs and tears from the 20 or so supporters of Leonard who had watched Doyle's trial hoping the jury would believe what they had concluded months ago -- that Doyle suffocated the 33-year-old mother of two young boys in her apartment, then dumped her body in the Champlain Canal in Kingsbury.

"I'll pray every day he is tortured in prison," said a tearful Barbara Sloan, Leonard's mother, as family members left court.

"Now we can go back to thinking about Lori and never have to think about him (Doyle) again," said Leonard's best friend, Dawn Popluhar.

The jury deliberated about 2.5 hours before returning the verdict in what was obviously an emotional matter for the panel as well.

One juror appeared to be near tears as she left the courthouse, while another was choked up when a relative of Leonard hugged him and fastened a blue rubber bracelet inscribed with the words "Justice 4 Lori" around his arm.

The deliberations capped a five-day trial and brought justice for two earlier victims of Doyle as well, one of whom was among those celebrating the verdict with Leonard's family. That woman, Sarah Volmar of Kingsbury, was attacked by Doyle in her home in 2000, her mother rescuing her as Doyle bound her with duct tape and choked her unconscious.

He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in the case and avoided a jail sentence.

"I'm satisfied," she said. "I hope he sits in jail and rots."

Doyle, 30, of Hudson Falls, had maintained his innocence throughout the investigation, though he did not testify during the trial.

He showed little emotion during the trial, appearing almost upbeat, as he interacted with his lawyer. He was visibly rattled when the verdict was read. He did not say anything, and he was sent to Washington County Jail without bail pending sentencing.

His apparent cockiness throughout the investigation and trial had irritated many of the Leonard supporters and police who investigated the case.

"He had a smirk on his face throughout the trial," said Washington County District Attorney Kevin Kortright, who prosecuted the case.

Kortright praised the police from central New York and Washington County who investigated Leonard's May 4 disappearance, an investigation that came to a head July 24 when her body was found in a toolbox in the Champlain Canal in Kingsbury. Her face was wrapped in duct tape, her hands and feet bound with handcuffs and duct tape.

Kortright said several police agencies doggedly pursued the case and worked together throughout, despite Doyle's best efforts to distance himself from the killing.

"It was a great investigation from Chittenango, the (Washington County) Sheriff's Department, State Police, Hudson Falls Police," he said. "They stuck with it and put together a great case."

"It's a sad case because you've got two young children who won't know their mother. He's taken that away from them," Kortright added.

Doyle was the last person known to have seen Leonard, having gone to her Madison County home to help her move in late April. He was questioned the day after she was reported missing. That was one of three police interviews in which he denied he had anything to do with her disappearance.

In light of two prior assaults on ex-girlfriends, though, he quickly became the prime suspect of both the family and the police. Family members came to Hudson Falls several times during the investigation, holding a rally in Juckett Park and posting "missing" flyers in the area of Doyle's School Street home.

Police linked the toolbox in which Leonard was found to Doyle, finding a key to its lock in the glove compartment of his pickup truck. A store clerk also told them Doyle bought the box on April 29.

One of the jurors, who spoke on the condition his name not be used, said no one piece of evidence persuaded him Doyle was guilty.

"It was the totality of it," he said. "There was a lot of evidence."

Earlier Thursday, Jeffrey McMorris, Doyle's lawyer, had asked the jury in closing arguments to acquit Doyle, saying there were "gaps" in the evidence that amounted to reasonable doubt.

He said afterward that the verdict would be appealed and that Berke's ruling to allow testimony from Volmar and another ex-girlfriend whom Doyle victimized would be an issue during the appeal.

"The jury did a good job," he said. "I know they paid attention and listened to the testimony."

More than two dozen police officers were in the court as the verdict was read, including Chittenango Police Chief Jeffrey Paul and Chittenango Police Investigator Wade Irwin, who spearheaded the investigation in central New York. Doyle had met the central New York woman through an online dating service. She had no other ties to the Hudson Falls area.

"We got justice four Lori," Paul said afterward. "It's a quiet community, and it's been devastating to have something like this happen in our community. I'm glad we had all the cooperation of all the agencies on this."

Standing before a half-dozen television cameras, Jennifer Leonard, Lori's sister, said the verdict was most important for her sister's young sons, 9-year-old Austin and 6-year-old Zackary, who have been worried Doyle would get out of jail.

Had Doyle been dealt with more severely when he assaulted Volmar and another ex-girlfriend four years earlier, Lori Leonard may still be alive, her sister said.

"He's never going to hurt another woman again," said Leonard's cousin, Jay Barnwell.

Doyle is to be sentenced March 3. He faces a minimum of 15-years-to-life in prison and a maximum of 25-years-to-life in prison

Murder case going to jury

Testimony ends without Doyle taking the stand

By DON LEHMAN
dlehman@poststar.com
Published on 1/26/2006

FORT EDWARD -- The jury hearing the Shawn M. Doyle murder case will begin deliberations today after testimony ended Wednesday without Doyle taking the witness stand in his own defense.

The prosecution rested its case against Doyle on Wednesday morning by calling an ex-girlfriend of Doyle's who told the jury she moved from the area and has hidden from him the last 10 years because of his attack on her in 1996.

The woman, Ceres Opanowski, said Doyle threatened to kill her, choked her, held scissors to her throat and cut her hair during an hours-long confrontation at her then-Hudson Falls home. Doyle was arrested and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor menacing in the case.

The petite, dark-haired woman said Doyle was living with her at her mother's home at the time, and that Doyle surprised her when she was home alone. At one point, he cut her long ponytail off with scissors he had held to her throat, she testified.

"It went on for hours and hours," Opanowski said.

She told the panel she has gone to great lengths to hide her whereabouts from Doyle since then, including not putting her current address on her driver's license and not putting any home utilities in her own name.

Opanowski was the last prosecution witness as Doyle, 30, of Hudson Falls, stands trial on a second-degree murder charge in the death of his ex-girlfriend, Lori A. Leonard of central New York. Police believe Doyle was upset she had been seeing another man.

He is accused of suffocating her by wrapping her face with a bandana and duct tape, then trying to dispose of her body in a truck toolbox in the Champlain Canal early last May. It was discovered July 23, and Doyle was arrested two days later, when police linked him to the toolbox.

Wednesday's testimony included four witnesses called by defense lawyer Jeffrey McMorris. Their testimony lasted less than an hour, and included a woman Doyle dated for several months in 2003 who called him a "gentleman."

"He was not someone who had any anger issues around me," the woman, RPI math professor Jennifer Blue, testified.

Doyle's sister, Erica Doyle, also took the stand to defend her brother, saying she saw Doyle the day he returned from visiting Leonard on May 4, the last day Leonard was seen alive.

She said she noticed nothing unusual about his appearance and did not see a truck toolbox in his vehicle that day. She also testified he did not own one, and said she would have known had he purchased one.

That testimony was brought in response to that of a friend of Doyle's who said Doyle had purchased a toolbox last spring, and a clerk at AutoZone, a Queensbury auto parts store, who said he bought one.

Police also testified a key to the toolbox which contained Leonard's body was found in the glove compartment of Doyle's truck.

An official with AutoZone corporate headquarters testified Wednesday that only two Duralast toolboxes like that in which Leonard was found were sold at the company's Queensbury store between 2003 and summer 2005.

McMorris, though, provided information that between one and five of the boxes were sold at each of the chain's other stores in upstate New York, the closest to Queensbury being a store in Johnstown.

In all, Washington County District Attorney Kevin Kortright called 31 witnesses and introduced 138 items of evidence, including the toolbox in which the body was found. Among the witnesses was a state forensic scientist, who said none of Doyle's DNA was found in the toolbox.

Wednesday's prosecution witnesses also included Leonard's older sister, Jennifer Leonard, who sobbed through much of her testimony as she told the jury of her sister's relationship with Shawn Doyle.

She testified that she was on the phone with her sister one night in February 2004 when Doyle went into her sister's home, threatening her, saying, "You have no idea what I can do to you," and that her family was "not always going to be here to protect you."

Jennifer Leonard also revealed that she found a receipt for duct tape from a Hudson Falls business in her sister's Madison County bedroom shortly after her disappearance. In addition to her face being covered with duct tape, Lori Leonard's hands and feet were bound with the tape.

After she was done testifying, Jennifer Leonard audibly broke down outside the courtroom, sobbing loudly for a minute or two.

A friend of Lori Leonard also testified about another incident of alleged domestic abuse between Doyle and Lori Leonard. The friend, Dawn Popluhar, said Doyle tried to drag Leonard out of a central New York bar one night and showed up threateningly another night at a bar where she worked.

Popluhar was quite combative during her testimony, glaring at Doyle, calling him a "dirtbag" and saying Leonard told her sex with Doyle "made her sick."

Erica Doyle was the last witness in the case. After she left the stand, McMorris and Shawn Doyle talked briefly, with Shawn Doyle appearing perturbed and shaking his head no, before McMorris rested his case.

McMorris said afterward that the conversation was not about whether Doyle wanted to testify.

"He has denied committing this crime in every statement he's made from day one," McMorris said.

Closing arguments are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. today, with deliberations beginning after Judge Philip Berke explains the charge to the seven-man, five-woman panel.

Store clerk IDs Doyle

Woman testifies she sold toolbox used in murder

ERIN R. COKER - COKER@POSTSTAR.COM
Michael R. Adams of Betterbuilt truck boxes in Florida answers questions in Washington County Court on Tuesday morning about the key, lock and toolbox in which Lori Leonard's body was found.

ERIN R. COKER - COKER@POSTSTAR.COM
Witness Susan Dubee, right, who worked with Shawn Doyle at Ellsworth Ice Cream, talks about his appearance during court proceedings on Tuesday morning. At one point, when asked to point out Doyle, Dubee glanced around and stated she did not see him. Doyle's appearance has changed dramatically from when he was photographed upon arrest, shown in background. Dubee eventually was able to identify Doyle.

By DON LEHMAN
dlehman@poststar.com
Published on 1/25/2006

The parts manager of a Queensbury auto parts store on Tuesday told a Washington County jury that Shawn M. Doyle bought the truck tool box in which Doyle's girlfriend was found dead three months after the purchase.

Maria West, who works at the AutoZone store on Upper Glen Street, identified the aluminum tool box -- in which police said Lori A. Leonard was found -- as the one West sold to Doyle last April 29.

She said Doyle purchased it, and she picked him from a photo array of six men with goatees presented to her by police after Leonard's body was found on July 24.

Defense lawyer Jeffrey McMorris questioned how she remembered Doyle and how she could identify the specific box.

"Three months, and you remember this one sale?" McMorris said.

"Yes, sir," she replied, adding Doyle had shopped at her store before he bought the box.

The toolbox was again the focus of testimony Tuesday in Doyle's murder trial in the death of Leonard, his ex-girlfriend. Doyle, 33, of Hudson Falls faces a charge of second-degree murder.

The jury also saw Tuesday that a key police said was found in the glove compartment of Doyle's truck opened the box's lock.

A friend of Doyle's, Hudson Falls resident Dorothy Tucker, also told the jury she saw Doyle with a truck toolbox the first week of May, days after he returned from visiting Leonard in central New York. Leonard was never seen alive after his visit to help her move in early May.

"I said 'What do you need a toolbox for? You don't have any tools,'" Tucker said she asked Doyle. "He said he was going to use it for storage."

Tucker's testimony was among the day's most emotional, with she and McMorris sparring over what McMorris called "fabrications."

Questioned by District Attorney Kevin Kortright, Tucker said Doyle was "very upset" that Leonard had been seeing other men before he went to visit her.

She said he also used tubes of sand in his truck, and she had seen him with a pair of handcuffs before, both items are evidence in the case because police testified a sand tube was found with Leonard's body in the toolbox, and her feet and hands were handcuffed.

McMorris, though, tried to cast doubt on Tucker's testimony by pointing out she didn't tell police about the handcuffs in her two written statements to investigators. He also elicited testimony that she was recently a witness in a New York City homicide case and questioned whether she was trying to be a "star witness."

The day's testimony turned emotional for Leonard's loved ones when photos of her body as it was found in the toolbox were shown to the jury. Much of her face was wrapped in duct tape, as were her ankles and hands.

Most of her supporters turned away, some weeping, as the graphic photos were shown.

State Police Investigator Drew McDonald told how her face was injured from the force of a bandana stuffed in her mouth as a gag. McDonald works with the State Police Forensic Identification Unit and searched the toolbox for evidence.

"The duct tape is many layers wrapp