Driver sentenced in wrong-way fatal DUI accident

MONTICELLO, NY — Patrick B. Collins, 51, of East Stroudsburg, PA was sentenced on September 6 in Sullivan County Court to six to 18 years in state prison. He was charged in a wrong-way drunk-driving crash that claimed the life of a 33-year-old Monticello man and seriously injured a 27-year-old Monticello woman, the man’s fiancé.

Collins entered a plea of guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and aggravated driving while intoxicated. District Attorney James Farrell said Collins was highly intoxicated, with a blood test showing a blood alcohol content of .19, more than twice the legal limit, and was driving the wrong way on State Route 17 in the area of Catskill Regional Medical Center at about 10:17 p.m. on October 16, 2018 when he crashed head-on into another vehicle in the westbound lanes.

An off-duty Sullivan County Sheriff’s deputy, who had just finished his shift at the Sullivan County Jail and was driving home, narrowly avoided being struck by Collins’ vehicle and immediately called 911. He was the first responder on scene to help the victims.

“The defendant chose to get behind the wheel while intoxicated and the result of that choice has irrevocably impacted the lives of his victims forever,” Farrell said. “Four children are now without their father and a family deprived of the loss of their brother because of the actions of this defendant.”

Sullivan not collecting school taxes

MONTICELLO, NY — Taxpayers should be aware that the Sullivan County Treasurer’s Office will not be collecting school taxes this November. The Sullivan County Legislature approved the change earlier this year.

“Each school district in Sullivan County has determined to end their tax collection on different dates,” explained treasurer Nancy Buck. “I strongly urge taxpayers to review their school tax bills carefully to ensure they are aware of the last day to pay their school taxes.”

The county will continue to re-levy any unpaid school taxes onto the individual taxpayer’s January 2020 county and town tax bill.

Questions should be directed toward school districts’ tax collectors and business offices, but the treasurer’s office is available to answer queries at 845/807-0200 during regular business hours.

Gouldsboro man sentenced for drugs

HONESDALE, PA — A 27-year-old Gouldsboro man has been sentenced 16 months to seven years in prison for selling drugs in the Honesdale area. Shane Knecht was one of seven arrested by the Wayne County Drug Task Force back in March.
According to the Wayne County District Attorney’s Office, between October and December of 2018, a confidential informant made buys worth $2,700 of about 50 grams of crystal methamphetamine and 20 bags of heroin. The buys took place in the Hawley Borough, Texas Township and Berlin Township.

Knecht is currently in the Wayne County Jail in an unrelated case. He will start serving the new sentence as soon as his current sentence is completed. He was also ordered to pay a fine of $300 and a fee of $250 to the DNA Detection Fund.

Pike doctor indicted for drugs

SCRANTON, PA — A doctor who practices in Pike County, Martin Evers, age 61, was indicted on August 28, 2019, by a federal grand jury for unlawfully distributing controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose resulting in death.

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, the indictment alleges that in September 2014, Evers unlawfully provided prescriptions for fentanyl and methadone, both Schedule II controlled substances, and diazepam, a Schedule IV controlled substance, that caused the death of one of his patients.

Evers appeared before Magistrate Judge Karoline Mehalchick on September 10 for his arraignment and was released under pre-trial supervision by Federal Probation.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

The charges stem from an investigation by drug diversion agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski is prosecuting the case.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is life imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.