Two New York City men are facing multiple felony charges after encounters with police in the Village of Liberty and the Town of Fallsburg on May 7.
According to police, two masked men stole a vehicle from a parking lot on South Main Street in the Village of Liberty at approximately 1 a.m. May 7, then drove to a Sunoco Country Store on Sullivan Avenue, where they attempted to break into the store. They were unsuccessful.
They then drove to a Mobil station in Loch Sheldrake in the Town of Fallsburg, where they were successful in breaking a glass door and entering the store, where they stole items and a cash register.
Officers and detectives from the Village of Liberty and Town of Fallsburg police departments conducted a joint investigation in an attempt to identify the two masked men.
At about 1 p.m., Liberty police Sgt. Chris Orlando saw a man matching the description of one of the suspects on North Main Street. When officers tried to approach the suspect, he fled on foot. That led to a lengthy foot chase.
Jayvion Thompson, 18, of New York City, was taken into custody on North Main Street.
During the chase and subsequent altercation with Thompson before he was taken into custody, Liberty police Sgt. Everett Saul suffered a deep cut and blunt force trauma to his right knee. He was taken by a police vehicle to Garnet Medical Health Center Catskill in Harris, where he was treated and released.
Further investigation by Liberty and Fallsburg police, assisted by state police, led to the second man being located in an apartment on South Main Street.
Sadiq Daugherty, 18, of New York City, was taken into custody at that location without incident. Proceeds of the burglary were also found in the apartment.
Thompson, who was being held in a prisoner processing room, was able to briefly escape from police custody. According to police, Thompson manually forced his hands through a set of handcuffs.
When a police officer exited the processing area through a secure door and went to an adjacent room, Thompson attacked and briefly overpowered the officer and fled through the open door.
Officers pursued him but lost sight of him in the North Main Street/Chestnut Street area.
Multiple law enforcement agencies established a perimeter and began a search for Thompson, with Liberty, Fallsburg and state police being joined by members of Sullivan County’s sheriff’s and district attorney’s offices and the county’s Division of Public Safety, as well as New York State forest rangers.
At approximately 4:40 p.m., Thompson was found hiding in a closet in an abandoned apartment on Chestnut Street. He was taken into custody without further incident.
Thompson and Daugherty were charged with attempted third-degree burglary, third-degree criminal mischief and third-degree grand larceny, all felonies, in the Village of Liberty. They were also charged with third-degree burglary, second-degree criminal mischief and fourth-degree grand larceny, all felonies, in the Town of Fallsburg.
Liberty police also charged Thompson with second-degree assault and second-degree escape, both felonies, and resisting arrest and second-degree obstructing governmental administration, both misdemeanors.
Police said Thompson is also wanted by the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision on a parole absconder warrant.
Both men were arraigned before Liberty Town Justice Brian Shortall. On the recommendation of Sullivan County District Attorney Brian Conaty, they were sent to the Sullivan County jail in lieu of $1 million cash bail, $2 million secured bond or $4 million partially secured bond apiece.
The names of their attorneys were not immediately available.
In a statement, Liberty Village Police Chief Steven D’Agata thanked all the agencies that assisted in the investigation and arrests. He also noted that the search for Thompson “likely alarmed many community members.”
“I take personal responsibility for this lapse,” D’Agata said in his statement. “While it is the defendant’s criminal conduct that resulted in his escape, we will be conducting a thorough review of the incident, our procedures, training and policy to identify and address deficiencies.”
Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record and the Poughkeepsie Journal. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com.
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Two NYC teens charged after multi-town crime spree in Sullivan County
Reporting by Mike Randall, Middletown Times Herald- Record / Times Herald-Record
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