POUGHKEEPSIE – Richard Lee, 23, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years post-release supervision for robbery after robbing his girlfriend’s husband in October 2022. Dutchess County Court Judge Edward McLoughlin handed down the sentence on March 31, 2023.
On October 21, 2022, at 9:25 a.m. in the parking lot of 1004 Main Street in the Village of Fishkill, Lee, who had been paroled just a month earlier, beat and robbed the husband of 23-year-old Luz Resto, the woman he was romantically involved with.
According to Senior Assistant District Attorney Scott Johnson, Lee, a Schenectady resident, and 19-year-old Kenneth Simmons, also of Schenectady, were driven to the Main Street address by the victim’s wife, Resto. Upon arrival, the two men located the victim in his car, opened the door, and demanded money and his cell phone.
Lee was armed with a pair of scissors when he beat the victim. He used the scissors to cut the victim’s face and neck, before stealing more than $3,000 in cash. Simmons stole the victim’s $1,000 iPhone.
The victim attempted to chase the two men back toward his wife’s car when Lee turned and threatened to shoot him although he did not have a gun with him.
The two men got in the car and the victim’s wife sped away with the two robbers. The three were apprehended a short time later by a Town of Fishkill police officer. Ms. Resto was sitting on the stolen cash in her vehicle. The phone and scissors were also recovered.
Resto pled guilty to felony robbery on February 10th and is scheduled to be sentenced to five years in prison and five years of post-release supervision on April 28, 2023. Simmons pled guilty to robbery on March 22, 2023. He will be sentenced to six years in prison and five years of post-release supervision on May 5, 2023.
