Bethlehem Area Weekly Police Blotter July 17: Girl harassed at Glenmont store

Averill Park man arrested for alleged unwanted contact and cocaine possession

GLENMONT – Bethlehem police responded to the Price Chopper/Market 32 store on Route 9W on Sunday, June 30 at 5:59 p.m. for a report of a man harassing a juvenile female.

According to reports, when officers arrived, they spoke to the victim’s mother and she said that her daughter was inappropriately touched by an adult male. Officers identified the man as Matthew Hogan, 32, of Averill Park.

Through an investigation, police determined that Hogan allegedly approached the girl and a friend outside the store and offered them cigarettes and wanted them to make him a drink. The girls then entered the store and Hogan followed them to the Starbucks counter inside, the police report said.

Hogan then allegedly stood close behind the girl and began rubbing her shoulders and back. The girl left the area and into a bathroom and called her parents, who responded to the scene. The girl’s father confronted Hogan and the police were called, it read.

While officers were interviewing Hogan, they observed a bulge in his sock and asked him what it was. Hogan allegedly said it was cocaine. He was taken into custody for possession of cocaine, which was later confirmed through testing.

The parents said they wished to press charges for the harassment.

Hogan was transported to the police station and charged with criminal possession of cocaine, a felony, and acting in a manor to injure a child, a misdemeanor, and harassment, a violation. He was arraigned and released on his own recognizance and was scheduled to appear in Bethlehem Town Court again on Tuesday, July 16.

DWI on Kenwood Avenue

DELMAR – A Bethlehem police patrol unit traveling eastbound on Kenwood Avenue on Thursday, July 4 had to move out of the way of an oncoming white 2013 Ford Fusion that drifted into its lane to avoid a collision.

According to reports, at 12:29 a.m., the officer turned around and followed the car to the intersection of Cherry Avenue and beyond. The driver of the car waited for five seconds at a green light before moving and then crossed the center lane again before the officer initiated a traffic stop near the intersection with Union Avenue.

Upon interviewing the 21-year-old Glenmont driver, he said he was driving home from Slingerlands to his home in Glenmont after completing work for DoorDash. The officer began field sobriety tests because the car was heading in the opposite direction than the description.

Officers observed the man to have an odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath even though the man said he did not have anything to drink. He also had glassy and droopy eyes.

He was given and failed field sobriety tests and taken into custody. The man refused to take a test for breath alcohol on a pre-screening device. An inventory of the vehicle also found a cold and half-full 24 ounce can of hard cider in the center console.

At the police station, the man provided a breath sample that returned a .13 percent BAC. He was charged with DWI, a misdemeanor, and ticketed for unsafe lane change, refusal to take a breath test and drinking alcohol in a motor vehicle.

The man was given a bill of particulars and released on an appearance ticket for Tuesday, July 16 in Bethlehem Town Court.

No license and DWI

SELKIRK – At 12:43 p.m. on Friday, July 5, Bethlehem police responded to a two vehicle property damage crash on Maple Avenue. On the way, dispatch communicators informed the officers that one of the drivers was out of her vehicle and stumbling around.

According to reports, officers found the driver, a 50-year-old Selkirk woman near her 2017 gray Dodge Journey talking on her cell phone and observed her stumble backwards to lean on the vehicle.

When officers interviewed the woman, they observed her to have a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from her breath. When they asked how much she had to drink, she allegedly said “a lot.”

Additional investigation found that she was drinking from a bottle of vodka during the morning, the report said. An interview with the other driver, he said that the woman was on the wrong side of the road and crashed into his vehicle as he was turning. She also did not have a valid license.

The woman was given and failed field sobriety tests, refused to take a test for breath alcohol on a pre-screening device and was taken into custody.

At the police station, the woman refused to provide a breath sample. She was charged with DWI and aggravated unlicensed operation, both misdemeanors, and ticketed for failing to keep right, operating a motor vehicle without a license and refusing to take a breath test.

She will appear in Bethlehem Town Court.

Larceny and warrant

GLENMONT – Bethlehem police responded to Marshalls on Route 9W for a report of a larceny in progress on Saturday, July 6 at approximately 5:18 p.m.

According to reports, officers located the suspect, Lavonia Collier, 38, of Albany, in the parking lot of CVS with a bag of merchandise from Marshalls.

A check of her identification showed she had an outstanding warrant from the City of Albany.

Collier was charged with petit larceny, a misdemeanor, and transported to South Station in the City of Albany and released to officers there. She was given an appearance ticket for Bethlehem Town Court for July 16.

Fake name, real charges, real warrant

GLENMONT – On Monday, July 8 at approximately 7:25 p.m. Bethlehem police responded to the CVS on Route 9W for a report of a larceny in progress. When officers arrived they found the suspect in the case in the parking lot of Price Chopper.

The suspect gave a name of Kerry Crumble and a date of birth, but could not give other information. A check of that name did return outstanding warrants, but it was later determined that his real name was Kevin Johnson, 56, of Albany, after a wallet was found while inventorying his backpack. The merchandise from CVS was also recovered and a glass smoking device with residue in it.

Johnson was wanted on an outstanding arrest warrant from Colonie police.

Johnson was charged with petit larceny and criminal impersonation with intent, both misdemeanors, and processed on the warrant. He was turned over to Colonie police on the outstanding warrant.

No lights, but had warrant

GLENMONT – Bethlehem police stopped a white Chevrolet Malibu on Route 9W on Thursday, July 11 at 12:26 a.m. for having no lights on. Officers determined that the driver of the vehicle Jose Cruz, 34, of Albany, had an outstanding warrant from the State Police Thruway Barracks.

He was ticketed and transported to meet troopers.

The post Bethlehem Area Weekly Police Blotter July 17: Girl harassed at Glenmont store first appeared on Spotlight News .