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Mid Hudson Times , Wednesday , September 28 , 2016
Murder suspect nabbed in Staten Island
A 17-year-old suspect in a City of Newburgh homicide has been captured in Staten Island . He is wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of Deandric Little on Aug . 1 .
Devin T . Isaac was taken in by New York City Police on Sept . 22 . City of Newburgh Police have a warrant for Isaac ’ s arrest on a charge of second-degree murder .
“ Isaac was found in possession of a loaded handgun at the time of his arrest ,” City of Newburgh Police reported Friday . “ Isaac is currently facing felony weapons charges in New York City and will eventually be taken to the City of Newburgh Police to be processed on the murder charge .”
Continued from page 1 by the U . S . Department of Justice to upgrade the citywide surveillance system , she said .
The funding comes in addition to $ 19,500 from the county , $ 7,500 from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and $ 75,000 from Sen . Bill Larkin Jr .’ s office , also to be used for upgrades . “ They called up and said , ‘ we want to kick in ,’” explained Lt . Richard Carrion , referring to the FBI .
It was similar with Larkin , city Mayor Judy Kennedy said . “ Senator Larkin just called me up out of the blue and said he wanted to help ,” she said . “ Tomorrow morning we will open an expense account to purchase equipment ,” said Mack .
The funding announcements come three weeks following the fatal shooting death of Keyshan Gayle , shot while standing in front of an unlit store at Fullerton Avenue and Third Street .
“ If we had these working cameras in place … these people would not have lost their lives ,” said Gayle ’ s mother Jennifer Bediako , reading a letter from Paula Cook Wright , the widow of Glenton Wright , shot and killed on Benkard Avenue in March . “ This is not right .”
Gayle , who graduated from Newburgh Free Academy in June , had been waiting for a friend when he was shot outside of the store . His death prompted a public outcry , which saw residents demanding working street lights and more surveillance cameras .
City Department of Public Works Superintendent George Garrison confirmed a street light at the corner where Gayle was shot was not working at the time of the shooting . The fact underscores friends ’ and family ’ s
Police could not confirm whether the handgun Isaac is accused of possessing is linked to the August homicide .
Little , 29 , arrived to St . Luke ’ s Cornwall Hospital with a gunshot wound on the evening of Aug . 1 . He was later transported to Westchester Medical Center , where he died from his injuries .
Isaac ’ s arrest appears to be the first of a suspect wanted in connection with a City of Newburgh homicide in 2016 . Little was among three fatal shooting victims in the city this year ; Glenton Wright , 51 , was gunned down on Benkard Avenue in March and Keyshan Gayle , 18 , was fatally shot at Fullerton Avenue and Third Street on Aug . 30 .
Indie author day at the Newburgh Free Library
Indie Author Day will be celebrated at the Newburgh Library on Sat ., Oct . 8 beginning at 12:30 p . m . The program offers an opportunity to meet local independent and self-published authors and to learn how to selfpublish a book .
Local independent authors are invited to attend and introduce themselves and their books or works in progress . As the featured speaker , local author Cate McCoy will talk about her books and journey as a selfpublished author .
McCoy has a completed series called “ The Dark Series Trilogy ” which created a spin-off Mackenzie ’ s Song :
“ The Dark Series Trilogy ” due in late 2016 . She has recently entered another field — screenwriting and has authored three screenplays : “ Hudson Haven ” ( horror ) 2014 , “ Forbidden Dimension ” ( sci-fi ) 2015 , “ Blackout “ ( action-thriller ) 2016 .
At 1 p . m . a free workshop will cover the many avenues of self-publishing including e-books , and discuss how you can decide the best route for your project .
No registration is required for this event . Attendance is limited to the first 25 . For information , call 563-3619 or 563-3600 .
Lights , cameras , action following public outcry
claim that Gayle was mistaken for someone else when he was shot on Aug . 30 .
Councilwoman Hillary Rayford reiterated the need for street lights at a council meeting on Monday . She held up an iPad , showing photos from a weekend rally at the city waterfront , where the scene appeared pitch black . There was no light at the waterfront spot once the sun went down , Rayford said . “ What are we going to do about it ?” she asked . “ Newburgh , we ’ ve got to take our city back .”
After a recent audit , DPW crews found 133 lights to be out citywide , Garrison said . That ’ s among 4,000 city street lights , he said . Garrison said he sent the information to Central Hudson and awaits a response . When Councilman Torrance Harvey asked how fast Central Hudson might take to replace the lights , Garrison said probably a month or more .
Meanwhile , city staff are working to replace 13 existing surveillance cameras . “ What was delaying us was the grant funding ,” said Mack .
Approximately $ 70,000 will be needed to replace the existing cameras , which will leave about $ 184,000 to purchase additional cameras , the comptroller said .
“ The real cost comes in , depending on where we put the cameras ,” said Mack . “ If the camera is in close proximity to where we already have lines , it ’ s not so bad . When it ’ s very far and we have to draw multiple network lines to get to where our connection is , that is when it costs a lot of money .”
Until new camera locations are known , it will be impossible to determine how many cameras the funds will buy , said Mack .
In Brief
Pipeline foes to gather at town hall
Following a recent successful Town of Newburgh demonstration against the Pilgrim Oil Pipeline proposal , Orange RAPP is sponsoring an informational meeting for concerned citizens in the meeting room of the Newburgh Town Hall .
The date is Thursday , September 29 , from 7 to 9 p . m .
“ Let ’ s take the mystery out of the review of this dangerous pipeline proposal . The State Environmental Quality Review Act , calling for studying the impacts of this project , is not rocket science . Thankfully , the public can put in testimony at various points in the process ,” Said Sandra Kissam , Acting Chair .” If the State wants paperwork showing that Pilgrim is bad for us , we ’ ll give it to them .”
Michael Sussman , well-known Goshen attorney , and Town of Newburgh Supervisor Gil Piaquadio have been invited to attend the meeting .
Assemblyman Frank Skartados ’ chief of staff Steve Gold will attend and give a legislative update Town of Cornwall Supervisor Dick Randazzo will also present comments on the status of the Pilgrim project .
Orange RAPP ( Residents Against Pilgrim Pipelines ) was formed in January of 2016 . Since then they have sponsored four public informational meetings in Cornwall and Town of Newburgh , done outreach at numerous local events , distributed information in neighborhoods , and recently held a protest demonstration at Rts . 300 and 17K .
For more information , call 564-3018 , or emailsandraks @ frontiernet . net .
City police investigate Front Street shoting
On Sunday morning at approximately 2a . m . City of Newburgh Police responded to the area of 50 Front St for a report of a shooting .
Upon their arrival , police located a 34-year-old male Newburgh resident with a single gunshot wound to the back . His name is not being released .
He was transported to St . Luke ’ s Cornwall Hospital by Mobile Life Ambulance . His injury did not appear to be life threatening , according to police .
City Of Newburgh Detectives are investigating the incident and anyone with information is urged to call City Police at ( 845 ) 561-3131 .