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Ex-BF Tried Stabbing, Choking Capital Region Woman To Death, Police Say Ex-BF Tried Stabbing, Choking Capital Region Woman To Death, Police Say
Ex-BF Tried Stabbing, Choking Capital Region Woman To Death, Police Say A man from the region is facing attempted murder and kidnapping charges after trying to kill his ex-girlfriend, police said. The Columbia County incident happened Thursday night, March 14, in the city of Hudson. Hudson Police said they found the victim at around 10:30 p.m.  “distressed” and covered in mud following an attack by her ex-boyfriend, 54-year-old Orlando Williams, of Hudson. The victim told investigators that she was alone smoking a cigarette on her back deck when Williams grabbed her, covered her mouth, and dragged her against her will down a path to a wooded area behind t…

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by Michael Mashburn
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Woman ID'd In Dismembered Remains Case Has Ties To Region Woman ID'd In Dismembered Remains Case Has Ties To Region
Woman ID'd In Dismembered Remains Case Has Ties To Region One of two murder victims whose dismembered remains were found strewn across Long Island has numerous ties to the Hudson Valley. Suffolk County Police said the severed remains of Donna Conneely, age 59, were discovered Thursday, Feb. 29, at Babylon’s Southards Pond Park.  Homicide detectives located additional remains on Tuesday, March 5, at Bethpage State Park and in a wooded residential area in West Babylon. Homicide detectives have located human remains at Bethpage State Park, Southards Pond Park in Babylon, and in a wooded area along Lakeway Drive in West Babylon.  Googl…

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by Michael Mashburn
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23-Year-Old Woman From Region ID'd As Victim In Apparent Double-Murder Suicide 23-Year-Old Woman From Region ID'd As Victim In Apparent Double-Murder Suicide
23-Year-Old Woman From Region ID'd As Victim In Apparent Double-Murder Suicide Two women killed by a boyfriend in an apparent double murder-suicide have been identified as a New York native and her college hockey teammate from New England. The incident occurred in Dade County in Miami, Florida, before 9 a.m. Saturday, March 16 at a Bird Road apartment building, the Miami-Dade Police said. According to Det. A. Colome of the Miami-Dade PD, Dutchess County native Sidney Capolino, age 23, of Pawling, and her roommate from Massachusetts, Meghan Moore, age 25, from Centerville on Cape Cod, were shot and killed by 40-year-old Luis Napoles, addre…

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by Kathy Reakes
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NASA Rocket Launch May Be Visible Across Eastern Seaboard NASA Rocket Launch May Be Visible Across Eastern Seaboard
NASA Rocket Launch May Be Visible Across Eastern Seaboard A nearly 60-foot rocket scheduled to launch later this week in Virginia could be visible along the Eastern Seaboard. Rocket Lab's Electron, a 59-foot rocket weighing 28,000 pounds, is set to blast off from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 2:40 a.m. Thursday, March 21, with a four-hour launch window running through 6:30 a.m., NASA said. It's beginning to feel a lot like...launch week! We’re targeting no earlier than 2:40 a.m. EDT, March 21 to launch #NROL123 'Live and Let Fly' on Electron for the @NatReconOfc from @NASAWallops at @Virginia_Space Mid-Atlantic Regional Spacep…

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by Cecilia Levine
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Inmate Found Dead In Capital Region Jail Cell Days After Arrest Inmate Found Dead In Capital Region Jail Cell Days After Arrest
Inmate Found Dead In Capital Region Jail Cell Days After Arrest An inmate was found dead at a jail in the region days after his arrest. Saratoga County Sheriff’s officials said Derek Labutta, age 43, of Schenectady, was found unresponsive in his cell at the county jail in Ballston Spa on Monday evening, March 18. Labutta, who was alone in the cell at the time, was pronounced dead at the scene. His death came just two days after Saratoga Springs Police arrested him in a public parking garage on Woodlawn Avenue on Saturday morning, March 16. Police said patrol officers spotted Labutta and another individual entering a vestibule and smoking an illegal su…

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by Michael Mashburn
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'Operation Pothole' Targeting Pesky Post-Winter Pits In Troy Roadways 'Operation Pothole' Targeting Pesky Post-Winter Pits In Troy Roadways
'Operation Pothole' Targeting Pesky Post-Winter Pits In Troy Roadways Now that spring’s knocking on the door, officials in the region have their sights set on those pesky potholes that popped up over winter. In Rensselaer County, “Troy’s Operation Pothole” officially got underway in Troy on Monday, March 18, to address potholes throughout the city. Over the next month, members of the city’s Quality of Life Action Task Force will drive up and down the streets, locating potholes and large cracks. Two teams will then blow out any debris and fill them with fresh asphalt. The paving schedule will be announced in the near future, city leaders said. “We are going…

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by Michael Mashburn
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Schenectady Man Who Confessed To Sexually Abusing Child Gets Over Decade In Prison Schenectady Man Who Confessed To Sexually Abusing Child Gets Over Decade In Prison
Schenectady Man Who Confessed To Sexually Abusing Child Gets Over Decade In Prison Over a decade behind bars awaits a man from the region who confessed to sexually abusing a young girl. Schenectady resident Juan Garcia-Pleitez, age 41, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in Schenectady County Court on Wednesday, March 13. It followed his guilty plea to one count of criminal sexual act, a felony, in January. Prosecutors said Garcia-Pleitez engaged in anal sex with a child under the age of 13 who was known to him in August 2023. In a conversation with her mother on Aug. 3, 2023, the victim said that the man had abused her the day prior in the family’s attic. The mother i…

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by Michael Mashburn
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'Just The Beginning': Nation's First Utility-Scale Offshore Wind Farm Completed Off NY Coast 'Just The Beginning': Nation's First Utility-Scale Offshore Wind Farm Completed Off NY Coast
'Just The Beginning': Nation's First Utility-Scale Offshore Wind Farm Completed Off NY Coast If you’re reading this, there’s a possibility that the electricity to power your device came from the country’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the completion of the South Fork Wind project on Thursday, March 14, capping off more than two years of construction that began in February 2022. As of Thursday, all 12 of the project’s offshore wind turbines were up and running roughly 35 miles off the coast of Long Island, delivering power to Nassau and Suffolk counties and the Rockaways, the governor’s office said. Earlier Report: 'Momentous St…

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by Michael Mashburn
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National Guard Solider From Rensselaer ID'd As Sole Survivor Of Triple-Fatal Crash National Guard Solider From Rensselaer ID'd As Sole Survivor Of Triple-Fatal Crash
National Guard Solider From Rensselaer ID'd As Sole Survivor Of Triple-Fatal Crash The only survivor of a helicopter crash that killed three people has been identified as a National Guard soldier from New York. The incident happened around 2:50 p.m. Friday, March 8 while the UH-72 Lakota chopper was flying over the US-Mexico border near Rio Grande City, Texas, according to the Joint Task Force North. Capital Region native Jacob Pratt, of Rensselaer, suffered critical injuries and remains hospitalized. More than $102,000 has been raised from a total of over 1,100 separate donations in a GoFundMe fundraiser launched by the New York State Counc…

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by Joe Lombardi
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FDA Recalls Oysters After Norovirus Outbreak FDA Recalls Oysters After Norovirus Outbreak
FDA Recalls Oysters After Norovirus Outbreak The US Food and Drug Administration has recalled oysters grown and harvested in Connecticut following an outbreak of norovirus. In a notice on Thursday, March 14, the FDA said the outbreak was caused by oysters sold by Norwalk-based Norm Bloom and Son harvested in February. Although the FDA did not give many how many people were sickened, they did reveal the contaminated batch was associated with an outbreak in Minnesota. In the notice, the FDA warned consumers that the oysters were also sold to restaurants and retailers throughout Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryl…

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by Kathy Reakes
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State Worker Abused Disabled Client In Capital Region, Second Employee Covered It Up: Police State Worker Abused Disabled Client In Capital Region, Second Employee Covered It Up: Police
State Worker Abused Disabled Client In Capital Region, Second Employee Covered It Up: Police A state employee at a facility in the region is accused of abusing a developmentally disabled client before another worker attempted to cover it up, police said. Troopers in Saratoga County were called to the Department of Developmental Services Offices (DDSO) care facility on Alpine Meadows Road in Greenfield on Saturday, March 2, for a reported abuse. State Police said an investigation found that an employee, 53-year-old Sandra Villafane, struck and injured a non-verbal resident who is diagnosed with multiple developmental disabilities. Troopers also discovered that another employee, 37-…

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by Michael Mashburn
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2 People Exposed To Rabid Cow In Upstate NY 2 People Exposed To Rabid Cow In Upstate NY
2 People Exposed To Rabid Cow In Upstate NY A rare case of people being exposed to a cow with rabies occurred in a hamlet in upstate New York. It happened late last week in Lee Center, located near the city of Rome in Oneida County. The cow was sent to a New York State Department of Health center for testing and the test results came back positive, the Oneida County Health Department said.  Two people were exposed to the cow and have received post-exposure prophylaxis, the department said. Signs of rabies include: Animal acting strangely Animal acting mad Animal acting shy The animal may get unusually close Drooling or…

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by Joe Lombardi