Hate crime charge
COLONIE – A Flushing man arrived in Colonie on Thursday, Jan. 12 to take a $30,000 payment from an elderly victim after he pretended to be an officer for a federal tax agency.
What Autuo Dong, 32, found instead were Colonie police investigators and a bag of trouble.
“Mr. Dong was involved in a scam where an individual called our elderly victim, pretending they were an officer with a federal tax agency, and stated they needed a large cash payment,” Lt. Daniel Belles said. “Mr. Dong arrived at the residence to collect this payment, and was met by Colonie Investigators, who were able to take him into custody.”
He was also driving a car that had a suspended registration and he did not have a valid license.
Colonie police charged Dong with attempted grand larceny – hate crime and criminal impersonation of a police officer, both felonies, and scheme to defraud, unlawful possession of a personal ID, aggravated unlicensed operation and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended registration, all misdemeanors, and operation of a motor vehicle by an unlicensed driver and operating a vehicle without insurance, all violations. He was sent to the Albany County Jail as a pre-arraignment detainee.
The investigation is ongoing and police are attempting to locate other victims who may have been duped by Mr. Dong.
“At this time, there are no other known local victims,” Belles said. “We believe that victims are being targeted due to their age, which is why he was charged with the hate crime statute.”
If you know something that might be relevant to this investigation, please contact the Colonie Police Investigations Division at 518-783-2754. If you wish to report a tip anonymously, you can call Capital Region Crimestoppers at 1-833-ALB-TIPS, or go to capitalregioncrimestoppers.com.
Driving unlicensed with ghost gun, drugs, booze
COLONIE — Colonie police observed a vehicle violate traffic laws near the intersection of New Karner Road and Central Avenue on Saturday, Jan. 14 at approximately 1:29 a.m. and performed a traffic stop.
The driver of the vehicle, Navasia Degroate, 37, of Schenectady did not have a valid driver’s license and neither did her two passengers, Karina Cotto, 26, of Schenectady and Enrique Pedragon, 21, of Schenectady. They were also drinking alcohol in the car.
According to police, while searching the vehicle, officers located a loaded ghost (un-serialized) pistol, along with a quantity of crack cocaine, ecstasy, Xanax, and fentanyl. All three were charged crimes related to the items found in the vehicle.
They were charged with criminal possession of a narcotic drug with intent to sell, criminal possession of narcotics, criminal possession of cocaine, criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a weapon- ammo clip and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, all felonies, and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor.
Degroate was additionally charged with driving with a suspended license, a misdemeanor, and ticketed for failing to stop at a stop sign, failure to keep right, operating a motor vehicle without a license and drinking alcohol in a motor vehicle, all violations.
All were arraigned by Colonie Judge David Green.
Destiny Greene’s relatives speak at killer’s sentencing
ALBANY – Branden Rivera, 20, of Albany, was sentenced to a determinate term of 25 years in State Prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision, before Judge William Little in Albany County Court on Thursday, Jan. 19.
Rivera pleaded guilty on November 18 to one count of felony second-degree attempted murder, a reduced first count of a two-count indictment handed up by a grand jury on January 21. It charged Rivera with one count of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree attempted robbery. According to Soares’ office, the plea satisfies both charges.
As part of the sentencing process, the family of the victim, 15-year-old Shaker student Destiny Greene, had an opportunity to address Rivera.
“She was only fifteen and had two jobs. She was a very hard worker. She gave herself to Christ at the age of eight, all on her own… You took away from her, her family, and the ones that loved her… Destiny was looking forward to her sixteenth birthday. She never made it to that day because two weeks before, Branden decided to play God and cause her demise,” Destiny’s mother, Tareen Lynch-Greene said.
“As a grandmother, I so look forward to seeing my children, and their children growing up and living productive lives. I dream of milestones such as graduations, weddings, work advancements, the starting of their own families, and the like,” Destiny’s maternal grandmother, Fidelia Rodriguez said. “Branden, you took all that away from me.”
“How did you get to this point in life? Who were your role models? You are a byproduct of an environment that has trapped you in an endless cycle of chaos, imprisonment, and death… Your life has been spared for now,” Destiny’s sister, Elijahnae Greene said. “My sister doesn’t have a life anymore. Take this time and opportunity to better yourself.”
“Branden, you took my heart away,” Destiny’s father, Elijah Greene said.
As judge in the case, Little also addressed Rivera, “You did choose this life. You had the opportunity, you’ve always had the opportunity, to either go and do what you did, or not. You made the active decision to do that, and because of that, someone is dead.”
“Twenty-five years from now, you get to walk out. Twenty-five years from now, those people back there will still be visiting their loved one at a grave,” he said.
Chinese citizen arrested after Thelma Street raid
COLONIE – After Department of Homeland Security Investigators and local agencies raided a Thelma Street home on Wednesday, Jan. 11, the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of NY announced the arrest of a Chinese citizen residing at the residence.
Wu Feng Zhang, 53, was arrested and charged with transporting stolen property across state lines.
He was arraigned by US Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart, and was ordered detained pending trial.
According to a statement, the criminal complaint alleges that between June and December, Zhang stole merchandise from home improvement stores in states including Pennsylvania, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and New York, and transported those stolen items to his residence in Colonie. Homeland Security Investigators searched his residence on Thelma Street and found more than $100,000 in merchandise stolen from home improvement and other stores.
The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years.
Homeland Security Investigators had assistance from the Colonie Police Department, the Albany County Sheriff’s Office, and the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office in investigating the case.
Two men arrested at the Albany County Jail
COLONIE – Albany County Sheriff’s Investigators arrested two inmates at the Albany County Jail on Thursday, Jan. 12, for trying to smuggle contraband into the facility.
Messiah Lamb, 25, was arrested for possessing a quantity of tobacco, marihuana, matches, match strikers and four ceramic razor blades. Lamb was lodged at the Albany County Jail for Intimidating a Witness in the Second Degree.
During a search of Lamb using a body scanner, correction officers found him to be in possession of all the above items concealed within his body.
Lamb was charged with promoting prison contraband in the first degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree and tampering with physical evidence, all felonies and promoting prison contraband in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree and one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, all misdemeanors. Lamb will be arraigned at the Town of Colonie Criminal Court at a later date.
The second inmate arrested was Dahmeek J. Mcdonald, 28, of Troy, for possession of contraband inside the Albany County Correctional Facility on January 11.
McDonald, who is currently housed at the jail for the original charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance, did, according to police, knowingly and unlawfully possess contraband consisting of marijuana, suboxone and morphine sulfate concealed within his body. The contraband was located after Correction Officers used a body scanner on McDonald during the intake process.
McDonald was charged with promoting prison contraband in the first Degree and promoting prison contraband in the second degree, both felonies, and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor.
McDonald will be arraigned at the Colonie Town Court at a later date.
Troy man arrested on firearms charges at Colonie Hotel
COLONIE – Colonie police responded to the Tru by Hilton hotel at 798 Albany-Shaker Road on Sunday, Jan. 15 at approximately 4:15 p.m., for a report of a person with a weapon.
According to police, the incident was reported by an Uber driver, who was involved in a confrontation with a customer, Omjasisa Felder, 52, of Troy, over the details of a ride. During this confrontation, the Felder displayed a firearm, pointed it at the driver and then returned to a room in the hotel.
Officers were able to identify the suspect and locate him outside of his room, where he was taken into custody.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for Felder’s rented room, and inside the room located two firearms, a loaded Glock 19 9mm handgun, which was reported stolen in Norfolk, Virgina in 2021, and a loaded Taurus PT-22 .22 caliber handgun. The suspect had no permit to possess the weapons.
This incident took place in the hotel parking lot and in the presence of multiple children. No shots were fired, and no one was injured during the incident.
Felder was charged with two counts each of criminal possession of a weapon 2nd degree and criminal possession of a weapon 3rd degree and criminal possession of stolen property, criminal use of a firearm, and menacing, all felonies. He was additionally charged with endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.
Felder was arraigned in the Colonie Town Court and was sent to the Albany County Jail pending a preliminary hearing.
This is still an active and ongoing investigation. If you know something that might be relevant to this investigation, please contact the Colonie Police Investigations Division at 518-783-2754. If you wish to report a tip anonymously, you can call Capital Region Crimestoppers at 1-833-ALB-TIPS, or go to capitalregioncrimestoppers.com.