TIMES
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION FIRST-PLACE AWARD FOR GENERAL EXCELLENCE, 2016
MID
HUDSON
Vol. 28, No 44
3
NOVEMBER 2 - 8, 2016
Page 44
SERVING NEWBURGH AND NEW WINDSOR
17-year-old suspect sought in shooting death of 2
By SHANTAL RILEY
[email protected]
Continued on page 2
ONE DOLLAR
Goldbacks
advance
Fatal Halloween shooting
Two young women are dead following
a shooting spree at a Halloween party
on Broadway early Sunday morning.
Police are seeking 17-year-old shooting
suspect Nija A. Johnson.
The shooting occurred at 12:43 a.m.
at a packed Halloween party at 119
Broadway. Partygoers reported the
lights went out in the moments prior
to the shooting, which took the lives of
20-year-old Tabitha Cruz and 18-year-old
Omani Free. Five other victims injured
Sunday are expected to recover.
“We were at a bar across the street
and we heard gun shots. People started
running into the bar,” said John
Santiago, describing panicked teens no
more than 15 or 16 years old. “They said,
‘There are people shooting in there.’”
Later that day, police arrested 20-yearold Tyson Oliveira and 21-year-old
Rainier Hamilton for felony tampering
with physical evidence. Hamilton was
also charged with second-degree, felony
criminal possession of a weapon. City
of Newburgh Police report they are not
accused of committing the shooting.
On Monday, police issued a public
notice seeking information leading to
Johnson’s capture. A $2,500 cash reward
is being offered for information that
leads directly to his location, arrest and
conviction.
“We come together in the name of
Jesus Christ… to stand against violence
in the City of Newburgh,” said city
Councilwoman
Hillary
Rayford,
speaking at an anti-violence rally held
3
Gardnertown
Commons
lawsuit
dismissed
By SHANTAL RILEY
[email protected]
Bob McCormick
Police tape at 119 Broadway, scene of a fatal shooting at a Halloween Party.
A profile photo from Tabitha Cruz’s
Facebook page.
A Facebook profile photo of Omani Free.
WWW.MIDHUDSONTIMES.COM
A lawsuit seeking to have the Town
of Newburgh Planning Board rescind
a determination that the Gardnertown
Commons housing development will have
no significant impact on the environment
has been dismissed as premature.
Town resident and neighbor William
Stillman filed an Article 78 lawsuit in
Orange County Supreme Court in June,
claiming a proposed housing project has
the potential “to significantly impact the
environment” due to its density, potential
impact on traffic, wetlands and town
services.
Developers have proposed a 164-unit
apartment complex on 19.77 acres near
the intersection of Gardnertown Road
and Creek Run Road. The site is expected
to feature a clubhouse, pool, tennis courts,
dog run and parking area. Twenty of the
apartments are reserved for seniors. Two
wetlands are located on the property.
“We asked the (planning board) to
rescind it at the public hearing, but they
declined,” Stillman explained in June.
Long Island-based Farrell Building
Company and property-owner Three
Kidds Newburgh were also named in the
lawsuit.
Stillman and other neighbors spoke at
Town Hall this summer, citing a litany of
concerns regarding the project – possible
well-water contamination, stormwater
Continued on page 4