Judge Watkins allows Leandra’s Law defendant to return home to her kids. [Update May 22 --Azgan Mataj case]
Jennifer L. Moore of Beacon is facing several felony charges after being arrested for driving while intoxicated on Route 9 in Croton.
Editor’s Note: The Jennifer L. Moore in this case is not the same person as the Jennifer Moore who teaches in Croton.
On Monday we reported on the case of a Beacon woman who was arrested driving on Route 9 in Croton for allegedly being intoxicated with children 1, 2, and 13 years age in the car with her. Jennifer L. Moore was charged with several felonies including violation of Leandra’s Law, which provides penalties of up to four years in prison for a first offense of driving while intoxicated when children 15 years or younger are in the vehicle.
Today Moore appeared in Croton Village Court, represented by her attorney, Michael Borrelli. Appearing for the prosecution was Westchester County assistant district attorney Brittany Renee' Rios. Moore has pled not guilty on the charges, although her license was confiscated during her earlier arraignment because she refused a breath test.
The main issue in court today was an order of protection the court had earlier put in place, prohibiting Moore from being in her Beacon home with her children. Borrelli explained to Judge Sam Watkins that her husband works full time and various family members had been taking care of the children during the day. Borrelli told the judge that Moore had already completed a parenting course that she had enrolled in on her own initiative, and that Child Protective Services had met with both her and her husband. He asked that the protection order be modified so that she could return home.
ADA Rios opposed modifying the protection order, arguing that Moore was charged with several felonies and that it would be “more appropriate” for a family court to deal with the question.
Judge Watkins asked why family court would be more appropriate, but was apparently not satisfied with Rios’s answer. He agreed to the defense request, although he left in place the order’s prohibition that Moore could not drive with the children in the car.
“I think this woman understands the seriousness, and she is taking steps,” Watkins said. He asked if Moore had any firearms in the house, to which Borrelli responded no.
The case was adjourned until June 18 for further proceedings on the felony charges.
The case of Dengjin Chen of Flushing
Earlier this month we reported that Chen had been arrested for allegedly attempting to scam at least $20,000 from a Croton resident. He appeared in court today, represented by attorney Kerry Weiner of the Legal Aid Society of Westchester County. The main order of business was getting Chen to sign an order of protection that would prevent him from having any contact with the alleged victim of the scam.
Court clerks called a translation service, which they often do when a language other than Spanish is required, to translate the proceedings into Mandarin. Weiner took Chen through a lengthy number of conditions, including orders that he must stay away from the victim’s (a woman) home and other locations, and that he could not communicate with her in any way nor interfere with any of her electronic devices. Judge Watkins ordered Chen not to obtain any firearms (he claimed not to own one) and specified that the order would be in effect for at least one year.
The case was adjourned until June 4 for further proceedings.
The case of Hari Valdez of the Bronx.
Readers may recall that Valdez was arrested by Croton police back in February after he was charged in New Rochelle with allegedly torching his ex-wife’s BMW, and found to have six outstanding Croton warrants. Valdez was arraigned in Croton Village Court on four counts of Grand Larceny in the fourth degree, one count of Grand Larceny in the third degree, and one count of Petit Larceny.
Valdez appeared in court today after having missed a court date in Croton on April 16, supposedly because of a scheduling mixup with his attorney, Paul King of Mineola, NY. This time his attorney did not show up again, apparently again because of a scheduling conflict, and Valdez was represented by another attorney who was present on other cases and agreed to stand in.
ADA Rios asked the judge to set bail in the case, because of the multiple felonies Valdez is currently charged with in multiple jurisdictions, and his failure to show up to court (including the six outstanding Croton warrants he had been arrested on in February.) Rios cited Valdez’s allegedly long previous rap sheet and the fact that he had an additional petit larceny charge pending in the Bronx. But Judge Watkins, after getting Valdez to agree that he would show up in court whether his attorney did or not—and making clear that there would otherwise be serious consequences—agreed to allow him to remain free, pending his next court date in June.
The Chronicle will continue to report on these and numerous other Croton-linked criminal cases that are currently pending.
Update May 22: Last month we reported that the case of Azgan Mataj, a Brewster man accused of raping an adolescent girl at the Croton Marina, was moving out of Croton and up to a higher court. We now have confirmation from the Westchester County District Attorney’s office that Mataj is next scheduled to appear on June 10 in the courtroom of Westchester County Court Judge Robert Prisco. The Chronicle will update this story again at that time
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