Dana
HAMLET OF WALLKILL – The Pine Bush man, who let a fugitive couple wanted in Tennessee for attempted murder, kidnapping and assault, stay with him, fed them, provided shelter before driving them to Pennsylvania, pled guilty on Tuesday to a misdemeanor of hindering prosecution.
Richard Dana, 55, was originally charged with a felony for harboring a fugitive, but that was reduced and he entered the guilty plea in Town of Shawangunk Justice Court.
Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright agreed to the plea.
“A couple of factors came into play, factors that we generally consider, one of which was the defendant’s age and lack of prior criminal conduct and although I was, and am, very offended by the process, I observed that his motivations were perhaps not as sinister as I attributed to him,” Carnright said.
Fugitives Jarret Cole Heitmann and Makayla Danielle Stillwell fled from
Tennessee after their crimes and wound up in the Hudson Valley where they
were spotted in Sullivan and Ulster counties and later in Pike County,
Pennsylvania.
On June 23, 2017, days after they fled following their crimes, Dana found them hiding in a shed on his property. Despite him knowing Heitmann and Stillwell were fugitives and were the subject of a multi-state manhunt, he gave them food, shelter, pillows and a blanket and let them shower in his home and stay overnight.
The following morning, he drove them to a Walmart store in Pike County and gave them a daypack, clothing, emergency pouches, blankets and a knife.
When sentenced in June, Dana could face from probation to one year in jail, said Carnright, who said the manhunt for the couple, later arrested down south, cost taxpayers over $100,000.
