Breaking News

Scattered power outages continued into the night and early this morning following yesterday’s day-long winds that blasted around the county and the surrounding areas. Orange and Rockland Utilities said there were as many as 18,000 that had lost their power before 10pm last night in Rockland, Orange and Sullivan Counties in New York and Bergen and Passaic Counties in New Jersey. 2,900 remained without power as of late last night. If you see any downed wires do not touch or approach them, it’s best to assume they are energized and dangerous. Instead, call O&R immediately at 1-877-434-4100.

Ramapo Development Could Move Forward
The Ramapo Town Board could vote tomorrow on a 637-home development and retail space and parks at the old Minisceongo Golf Course. That’s according to the Journal News. The Miller’s Pond developers need a higher-density zone for the project. Plans for the development include 535 townhouses and 102 apartments. The community would also include parks, several miles of trails, and 56 acres of open space.

Hoax 911 Call Hits Orange County School
Two 14 year-olds have been charged in connection with a hoax 911 call to an area school that falsely reported an active shooter. That’s according to DailyVoice.com. The incident reportedly occurred in the Orange County town of Wallkill last Friday at Monhagen Middle School. Two unidentified students from Middletown were arrested and charged with Falsely Reporting an Incident. They were released and are due back in court next week.

Orange and Rockland Utilities has tripled their overhead line workforce for today as high winds are expected to wreak havoc in our area. Winds could gust up to 60 miles an hour today and into the night, possibly causing trees to fall thanks to the saturated ground from recent rain.

Spring Valley Man Charged After Crashing into Area Home
A Spring Valley man was arrested Saturday after crashing his car into a house in Hillcrest. Ramapo Police say the 39 year-old had a blood alcohol level of more than .18 when he struck the home on Oxford Court around 6:45 Saturday evening. He was charged with DWI, Aggravated Unlicensed Operation, driving without an inter-lock device and other violations. There were no injuries reported. The driver was released on his own recognizance for a future court date.

Three Bronx men were busted trying to steal a Jeep from a Rockland car dealership by trying to pull a key fob switcheroo. It all started just after 2pm on Monday at the Rockland-Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram dealership on Route 304 in Nanuet. A sales rep at the dealer gave the men a key fob to check out a used Jeep but they allegedly returned a fake fob instead. Clarkstown Police Detective Norm Peters says the suspects, who are 19, 20 and 21 years-old, returned at around 11:30 that night…

One of the suspects was captured in the frigid, swampy waters near the Palisades Parkway and Thruway cloverleaf. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment. At the same time, the driver of the suspects’ vehicle tried to evade police in pursuit, crashing near Old Mill Road and Snake Hill Road in West Nyack. He tried to run, but was quickly caught, the third suspect was also nabbed. All three face Grand Larceny and other charges. Two were sent to the Rockland County Jail, while one was released.

The suspects:

Mr. Joel Belen was placed under arrest and charged with Grand Larceny 3 (felony), Grand Larceny Auto (felony), Obstruct Governmental Administration (misdemeanor) and Conspiracy (misdemeanor). Mr. Belen was arraigned in the Town of Clarkstown Justice Court where bail was set at $10,000.00. He was placed in the custody of the Rockland County Sheriff’s Department and transported to the Rockland County Jail.

Mr. Mankamang Ceesay was placed under arrest and charged with Grand Larceny 3 (felony), Grand Larceny Auto (felony), Obstruct Governmental Administration (misdemeanor) and False Impersonation (misdemeanor). Mr. Ceesay was arraigned in the Town of Clarkstown Justice Court and released on his own recognizance.

Mr. Isaac Boateng was placed under and charged with 2 counts of Grand Larceny 3 (felony), Resisting Arrest (misdemeanor), Conspiracy 5 (misdemeanor) and several NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law infractions. Mr. Boateng was arraigned in the Town of Clarkstown Justice Court where he was remanded to Rockland County Jail on a warrant.

The seven locations in Rockland that were targets of search warrants yesterday by the Rockland D-A’s Office and other agencies as part of an investigation into the illegal selling of cannabis products are still open, at least one in Orangetown is. In a statement, the D-A said the search warrants were executed at seven smoke shops in the area, two in Clarkstown, two in Orangetown and one in Suffern. Another business and a private residence in Clarkstown were also targeted in the yearlong investigation. Orangetown supervisor Teresa Kenny says one of the stores in her town was apparently selling cannabis illegally…

In a statement, the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations said it all started out as an investigation into local companies selling cannabis products without proper licenses, and selling to minors, but then it also allegedly uncovered a tax scheme as well. The Rockland Sheriff’s Department was not involved in this case, but Sheriff Lou Falco says marijuana issues have become front and center to all law enforcement…

No other details, including the names of the smoke shops, were available.

Seven locations in Rockland were targets of search warrants yesterday by the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office and other agencies as part of an investigation into the illegal selling of cannabis products and tax fraud. In a statement, the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations says it started out as an investigation into local companies selling cannabis products without proper licenses, and selling to minors, but then it also uncovered a tax scheme as well. Rockland’s D-A says search warrants were executed at seven smoke shops in Rockland County, two in Clarkstown, two in Orangetown and one in Suffern. Another business and a private residence in Clarkstown were also targeted in the yearlong investigation. No other details, including the names of the smoke shops, were available.

Suit Files Against Village of Airmont
In Airmont, a resident of Fosse Court has filed a lawsuit accusing village officials and their building inspector of letting a rabbi illegally run a school in a single-family house and convert a residence next-door into a dormitory. That’s according to The Journal News. The plaintiff says she and other neighbors who have complained about the situation are being harassed by the rabbi’s followers. Neither the rabbi, Airmont’s mayor or the building inspector were reached for comment in the Journal News piece.

BOCES Vote Today in West Nyack
Voters in Rockland get to decide today whether BOCES can move ahead with a $48 million expansion project that would bring a 52,000 square-foot, two-story building to its main campus in West Nyack. It’ll house various programs including Career and Technical Education; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; culinary arts, a new gym and fitness area, and more. BOCES programs serve 38,000 public school students countywide in eight public school districts. BOCES projects enrollment to increase nearly 20% in the next ten years. You can vote at the Jesse Kaplan school in West Nyack from noon to 8 tonight. It’s located at 65 Parrott Road, Building 9.