POUGHKEEPSIE – Gary Bonventre Jr. was in Dutchess County Court on Friday for a proceeding before Dutchess County Court Judge Edward McLoughlin.
The 42-year-old Bonventre is facing a felony weapons charge along with a felony reckless endangerment charge after police say he fired a .22 caliber handgun into Antonella’s restaurant in Fishkill in October of this year. He was arrested just hours after he allegedly committed the crime.
Bonventre was arraigned in the Village of Fishkill Court and remanded to the Dutchess County Jail in lieu of $100,000 cash bail, a $100,000 secure bond, or a $1,000,000 partially secure bond. His brother Michael, a Stormville resident, posted bail the next day. According to statements in court on Friday, the accused has been staying at his brother’s residence since being released from jail for the purpose of supervision.
Dutchess County Assistant District Attorney Scott Johnson told Judge McLoughlin that bail should be revoked and Bonventre be remanded to jail due to his alleged substance abuse and mental health issues.
In Friday’s hearing, the defense attorney indicated that Bonventre has twice enrolled in private counseling facilities but has been forced to withdraw from treatment to attend court hearings.
After hearing from both sides, the judge decided to revoke bail and send the accused shooter back to Dutchess County Jail. He also ordered a complete forensic evaluation of the defendant due to possible drug use and also ordered psychiatric evaluations to determine the defendant’s competency to aid in his own defense.
In revoking the bail, Judge McLoughlin said he was sending Bonventre back to jail because “The factual landscape of the case is extremely frightening.”
