LIBERTY – A 38-year-old Liberty man was arrested an hour after he allegedly stabbed three men and attempted to stab another at or near a restaurant on School Street in the village.
The incident occurred just before 1 a.m. on Sunday and a little over an hour later, Liberty Village Police had a suspect, identified as Darwin Banegas-Ortiz, in custody.
When police arrived on the scene, they found two men, 42 and 20, suffering from apparent lacerations and puncture wounds to the neck and abdomen.
Due to a lack of available ambulance services, the victims were transported by private vehicle with a Liberty Police escort to Garnet Health Medical Center Catskills in Harris where both were treated.
From there, the 20-year-old victim was airlifted to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla and the 42-year-old was airlifted to Garnet Health Medical Center in the Town of Wallkill.
Within minutes, police received a report of a third stabbing victim, who had left School Street and was at a private home on Chestnut Street in Liberty. The 47-year-old man, who suffered a stab wound to the chest, was transported by ambulance to Garnet Health Medical Center in the Town of Wallkill.
Banegas-Ortiz was found in a wooded area off Grant Street and police recovered a black folding utility knife used in the assaults.
He also suffered a laceration to his arm and was also transported by ambulance to Garnett in Wallkill.
During the course of the investigation, police learned he had attempted to stab a fourth individual but was unsuccessful.
The man, who declined to give his name, said there had been a party going on next door to him, and “things got out of hand” when the stabbings occurred.
Police charged Banegas-Ortiz with two counts of attempted murder, assault, attempted assault, criminal possession of a weapon and menacing.
He was arraigned and remanded to the Sullivan County Jail without bail pending a future court appearance.
Liberty Village Police were assisted in the investigation by the Sullivan County Sheriff’s and District Attorney’s Offices, State Police and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Division.
