KINGSTON – Twenty-nine-year-old Kingston resident Scipio DuBois, a parolee, entered a guilty plea in Ulster County Court on Thursday for his role in holding children hostage at a hotel in March.
DuBois pleaded guilty to felony kidnapping after he held three children, ages four, two, and one, in a room at the Rodeway Inn Skytop Hotel on March 4, 2022.
Ulster County DA David Clegg said that DuBois had agreed to watch his friend’s children at the hotel that day but became increasingly paranoid because he was wanted on a parole warrant. Under the delusion that law enforcement sent the manager to knock on the door to lure the children out of the hotel in order to arrest him, DuBois called 911 to report that he had hostages and wanted to negotiate.
State Police negotiators responded and contacted DuBois by cell phone and attempted to convince him to release the children, but he refused. During the five-hour negotiation, DuBois repeatedly threatened to hurt the children. After negotiators lost contact with the subject, the State Police Sort Team made forced entry into the hotel room and rescued the children.
The case was handled by the Ulster County District Attorney’s Special Victims Unit Chief Elizabeth Culmone-Mills. The prosecutor praised the New York State Police, whose “swift and expert response not only ensured the safety of the children but enabled our office to successfully expedite this prosecution.”
