Thomas Petro News Today

KINGSTON, N.Y. — An  Ulster County jury deliberated for about 90 minutes on Monday before finding two brothers guilty of murder in the Jan. 1, 2023, shooting death of Daniel Spotards of Plattekill. Following an 11-day trial, Juwaugh Dawkins, 32, and Junando Dawkins, 30, were convicted of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon […]

KINGSTON, N.Y. — Drug packaging materials, large quantities of a “white powdery substance,” a scale and assault weapons found in one defendant’s Newburgh home by state police point to a motive in the 2023 murder of Daniel Spotards, Ulster County District Attorney Emmanuel Nneji said in court Wednesday. The two brothers who are charged with […]

KINGSTON, N.Y. — An empty hard plastic Glock pistol box was found by investigators who searched the residence of one of the men accused of killing Daniel Spotards in Plattekill last year, investigators said Tuesday. At the trial in Ulster County Court before Judge Stephen Schick, a Florida detective said he’d searched Juwaugh Dawkins’ Jacksonville, […]

KINGSTON, N.Y. — A broken Glock pistol recovered by state police divers in the Hudson River contains DNA evidence linked to one of the two brothers charged with the fatal shooting of Daniel Spotards, a witness said Monday. Ulster County District Attorney Emmanuel Nneji has said a Glock pistol was used to fatally shoot Spotards […]

KINGSTON, N.Y. — A small baggie containing an unidentified “white powder” was found only a few feet from where Daniel Spotards’ body was discovered on his Plattekill driveway, the first state trooper on the scene said during the trial of his alleged killers in Ulster County Court on Friday. At about 5:50 p.m. Jan. 1, […]

KINGSTON, N.Y. — Autopsy photos of Daniel Spotards are “evidence of an execution,” and are so “horrifying” and “graphic,” that they were ruled inadmissible and kept from jurors by Judge Stephen Schick. Medical examiner Dr. Kia Newman testified Thursday that Spotards, 42, was shot eight times, including in the forehead, cheek and neck. Spotards was […]

KINGSTON, N.Y. — Maliek Fredericks pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary in Ulster County Court on Monday in a plea deal, avoiding a second-degree murder charge in connection with the July 2023 shooting death of Dominique Green. Fredericks, 26, of Schenectady, pleaded guilty to the felony burglary charge in front of Judge Thomas Marcelle after a […]

INKERMAN — A Luzerne County business that’s been a favorite for do-it-yourselfers for more than a half century is closing up shop.

INKERMAN — A Luzerne County business that’s been a favorite for do-it-yourselfers for more than a half century is closing up shop.

Bethany Purdy finds peace working with porcelain and pliers. The Lenoxville woman began creating hand-crafted rosaries to cope with difficult life situations, including the death of her son, Joshua, about