Fire rips through River Road Residence
SELKIRK – Another weekend fire ripped through a local residence on Saturday, but all members of the family escaped and local volunteer departments were able to contain the blaze.
At approximately 7 a.m., Bethlehem police received a call from 201 River Road reporting a fire at the home.
When officers arrived at the scene, all occupants of the house were already out, but the house had heavy fire and smoke coming from a second-floor bedroom. Selkirk Fire Department personnel and equipment arrived at the scene shortly after, and began fighting the fire.
The damage was limited to one upstairs bedroom and one occupant was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.
Two of the family’s cats perished in the blaze.
Selkirk was assisted by Delmar, Elsmere, Slingerlands and North Bethlehem Fire Departments and Delmar-Bethlehem EMS.
According to police, the fire is under investigation to determine the cause and origin of the fire.
Man arrested again for 2020 burglary and credit card theft
ALBANY – City police arrested a 31-year-old man on unrelated charges on July 5 and found that he was wanted for not showing up to Albany County Court to face a series of burglaries in June 2020 in Bethlehem.
According to reports, Richard Agley, of Albany, allegedly broke into a home on Euclid Avenue in Delmar in June 2020 and attempted to break into another.
He allegedly stole cash and credit cards that were used in Albany. Bethlehem police detectives interviewed Agley a week later and arrested him on charges of burglary and grand larceny, both felonies, and criminal mischief and identity theft, both misdemeanors. At that time he was arraigned on the charges by Bethlehem Town Judge Andrew Kirby and sent to the Albany County jail until a preliminary hearing in August 2020 in Albany County Court.
He did not show up and on November 9, 2020 County Judge Andra Ackerman issued a bench warrant for Agley.
On July 5 he was processed on the warrant and sent from Albany City Court to the Albany County jail.
DWI, no license, leads to felony charge
SLINGERLANDS – Bethlehem police observed a 2003 black Dodge driving without plate lamps as it was traveling westbound on Route 85 on Sunday, July 9 at 1:05 a.m. and began to follow the vehicle. The vehicle turned on Blessing Road and rapidly accelerated until it pulled into a parking lot on Meadowbrook Drive and shut off its lights.
According to reports, the officer pulled behind the vehicle and made contact with the occupants of the vehicle. The driver’s seat was empty when the officer arrived and one male was standing in the open passenger side doorway. It was determined the man in the passenger seat, Trever Sisson, 21, of East Berne, was actually the driver.
Sisson was given and failed field sobriety tests and tested positive for breath alcohol on a pre-screening device. He was identified by his non-driver ID only that was suspended for refusing to take a breath test on June 28.
At the police station, Sisson refused to submit a breath sample to police.
He was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation – alcohol or drugs, a felony, and DWI, a misdemeanor, and ticketed for operating without a license, operating an uninspected vehicle, unsafe turn and inadequate plate lamp.
Sisson was given an appearance ticket to Bethlehem Town Court on August 1.
This story appeared on page 2 of the July 19, 2023 print edition of the Spotlight
