An anti-climactic morning in Village Court
Oliver Fernandez and Hari Valdez fail to show up, while Baked-by-Susan's Christopher O'Keefe is still negotiating a settlement related to charges stemming from an automobile accident near the bakery.
The Chronicle attended Croton Village Court this morning expecting to hear updates on three high profile cases we have been following. But things did not go quite as planned.
Oliver Fernandez, who has cases in three courts—Croton, Ossining, and Westchester County Court in White Plains—was not brought to Croton by officers from the Westchester County Jail, for reasons that were not clear. This makes at least twice that the Department of Corrections has failed to produce him. The most serious charges against Fernandez stem from his arrest on January 31 by Croton police after driving out of Maple Commons, when he was allegedly found in illegal possession of a handgun. Fernandez has a new Croton court date of April 30.
Hari Valdez of New Rochelle, who has been charged with six counts of Grand and Petit Larceny related to alleged bank fraud activities, did not show either—and neither did his attorney, Paul King of Mineola, NY. Neither Judge Sam Watkins nor Assistant District Attorney Chelsea Paglia knew why, so the court sent both Valdez and his attorney warning letters and set a new date, also for April 30. (Readers will recall that Valdez was also accused of torching his ex-wife’s BMW in New Rochelle.)
The Chronicle reached King by telephone, and while he had “no comment” on the no-show, it did appear that there had been some kind of miscommunication. King told us that he would be calling the court right away.
That left the case of Christopher O’Keefe, co-owner of Baked by Susan, who was arrested by Croton police last January on alleged road rage charges after a two-car accident very near the bakery. O’Keefe showed up nattily dressed in a light green suit, with his attorney, Jay C. Sherman of Ossining.
“Tell all your clients to dress like Mr. O’Keefe,” Judge Watkins told Sherman.
Sherman told the court that his client was still talking with the complainant in the case about the amount of restitution he would pay, but that the current proposed amount was “too high.” The matter was continued to May 14 in hopes that the parties could work it out by then.
While we consider covering crime in Croton to be a somewhat thankless task, readers can count on regular updates on these and the other cases we are following.
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Careful with this baker. He'll beat the focaccia.
He can afford restitution, he is rolling in dough.