SAUGERTIES – A domestic dispute at 95 Pine Grove School Road on Thursday afternoon resulted in a man being arrested for violating an order of protection along with other charges.
Saugerties Police Chief Joseph Sinagra said his officers responded to the residence at 1:52 p.m. on Thursday for a reported domestic dispute. Officers met with a woman who claims that she was assaulted by 25-year-old Jairo Gonzalez-Palma, who was the subject of a full “stay-away” order of protection granted to the victim.
The woman indicated that she had invited Gonzalez-Palma to her residence with disregard to the court order. When he arrived, the alleged victim claims that he was intoxicated and she demanded that he leave the premises.
The complainant said he became angry at the demand and struck his head against hers, causing the victim to sustain a laceration. Gonzalez-Palma fled the residence before police arrived. He was located a distance away and taken into custody.
He was arrested and charged with the felonies of Criminal Contempt of a Court Order and Aggravated Family Offense as well as the misdemeanor of Attempted Assault. He was arraigned in the Saugerties Justice Court and released on his own recognizance and ordered to return on June 2.
Gonzalez-Palma has been arrested several times by Saugerties Police. The homeless Guatemalan man has been used as an example of bail reform failures by Chief Sinagra.
