An update on criminal cases in Croton.
The Chronicle continues to cover all important court matters relating to the village.
Croton Village Court.
In comments at the end of the last two Board of Trustees meetings, Mayor Brian Pugh has questioned why there supposedly has been so much public attention on arrests that involve Maple Commons (in one way or another) given that there have been many other arrests by Croton police over the past year.
We cannot speak for others, but here at the Chronicle, we have reported on all important cases that we have learned about since we first began publishing. Here is an update on the cases we have been following, with relevant links.
Oliver Fernandez: We reported yesterday on his appearance in Westchester County Court on gun possession charges, resulting from an arrest after he drove out of Maple Commons. His next appearance in that court is on April 23; his next appearance in Croton Village Court on criminal contempt charges is April 2.
Valaria Davis: We reported recently that Davis had pleaded guilty to charges relating to attempted menacing with a knife, directed against a Maple Commons resident and the interior of her apartment. She received probation.
Christopher O’Keefe: The co-owner of Baked by Susan last appeared in Croton court on March 19 for routine processing of his case, involving charges related to an alleged road rage incident. His next appearance will be April 16.
Hari Valdez: Valdez, accused of charges related to bank fraud, was supposed to have appeared in Village Court on March 19. However, his attorney told the court that his client was sick, and the case was continued to April 16.
Azgan Mataj: Mataj, accused of committing a rape at the Croton Marina, appeared in Croton court on January 22. His next court appearance is scheduled April 9.
Eric Kyu: Kyu, accused of possession of child pornography by federal prosecutors, has had a number of continuances in his case while his attorney and the government try to work out a plea deal. His last continuance expired on March 19, and there are no new entries on the court docket. Kyu’s attorney has not yet responded to queries from the Chronicle seeking an update to the case, but the lack of further continuance could suggest that some kind of agreement has been reached.
Dale Page: We recently reported that Page, accused of stealing from Croton’s ShopRite, had reoffended and been terminated from his drug treatment program. He is back in prison.
Carlos Liriano: We reported last December that Liriano, accused of burglaries in Croton, had received a plea deal in which he avoided prison by agreeing to go through a mental health program. We have been monitoring his progress and so far he has been compliant with the court’s orders.
The Chronicle recognizes its obligation to serve the community and its concerns about public safety by covering all important criminal cases emanating from, or affecting, the village of Croton-on-Hudson. We thank our readers for their continuing support.
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Comments policy: No personal attacks, please be polite and respectful.
Maybe the concern about Maple Commons was that lethal weapons were used Mr. Mayor.
Pugh is a naive person. The Chronicle reports on all serious crime and yes, people will be hyper-focused when guns are involved and will post to social media, with the risk of being attacked by human BOTS on Facebook groups, falling over themselves screaming racism, while they themselves have internal anxiety over what they read. A criminal is a criminal, I personally will not shy away from expressing my opinions on people who commit crime and I’m not going to pull my punches based on the race of the offending individual.