Wassaic’s tranquility interrupted by series of break-ins

WASSAIC — While visitors are regularly welcomed to enjoy the artistic hamlet of Wassaic, the recent sudden appearance of a homeless person who came and stayed, upset the sense of calm.

A series of local break-ins brought state and county law enforcement to investigate, eventually resulting in an arrest and arraignment of Isaiah Garcia.

First reports came on Tuesday, July 23 of a disruptive person at the Wassaic Project creating a nuisance by smoking on premises and refusing to depart. The Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office responded to that call and resolved the incident with no charges being filed.

On Sunday, July 28, there was a report of a minor burglary at a private home, with surveillance camera footage showing a dark figure carrying an axe taken from a nearby property, and also on Sunday, July 28, a break-in at Calsi’s General Store for which the State Police answered the call and completed an arrest.

Arraignment occurred at Amenia Town Hall with a trial date set for Monday, Aug. 19. The person was released, all in accordance with existing law, and he returned to Wassaic. He has not been seen since July 28.

Reports and rumors flew freely throughout the area, live and on social media, demonstrating residents’ fears for safety within their community and on behalf of their children, in particular. Two lines of thinking emerged. The first would try to help the “stranger” as biblical teachings repeatedly recommend; the other called for more decisive action that would remove the perceived threat.

About 70 people came to the Wassaic fire station for Kirk Imperati’s visit Friday, Aug. 2. Photo by Nathan Miller

Hamlet Meeting

To clarify the issue and explain the role of law enforcement, a hamlet-wide meeting was convened at the Wassaic Firehouse on Friday, Aug. 2, inviting County Sheriff Kirk Imperati to speak, along with other county officials. More than 70 residents attended the session, organized by the Amenia Town Republican Committee.

Listening to residents’ safety concerns, Imperati advised that anyone who sees anything or anyone and is at all concerned, should call 911 to have an officer dispatched to the scene. Either his office or the state police will come right away, he said. Imperati also recommended “block watches” as a valuable exercise while emphasizing that no unilateral action should be attempted by residents for everyone’s protection.

The officers are trained in speaking with the person and determining risk.

Under current terminology, Imperati explained, the unhoused person is described as “a person in crisis.”

“We are held to a higher standard,” Imperati said, since the 2020 police reform and modernization measures were implemented by the State of New York. “We’ve been asked to do more with less in recent history,” he added, feeling that bail reform has hindered the ability of police to bring people into custody.

Imperati was elected to his office in 2022, having served the Sheriff’s Department over 23 years. He began serving as Sheriff in 2023.

“My job is to help everyone,” Imperati said, reporting that his office responds to 60,000 to 70,000 complaints each year, with 75% being for mental health issues. Closure of state and county mental health facilities throughout the area has meant that law enforcement has needed to take on the responsibility. Imperati said that his office has now hired a mental health professional, and he would like to be able to hire more.

“We need more facilities and services to get these persons the help they need,” Imperati said. Under current law, however, he added, a person needs to recognize his own need for mental help and then request it to get it.

The unhoused visitor is described by many who have encountered him as unwell, but not confrontational or uncooperative. During his court appearance, he gave a home address in San Antonio, Texas, indicating that he had come east to New Jersey to live with a friend, but that did not work out, so he came north to New York City, and then farther north to Wassaic.

“A person like that is at risk,” said Sharon Kroeger, owner of Calsi’s General Store. “We are all victims,” she added, concerned for the welfare of the visitor as well as residents.

“A system allowing for ‘preventive detention’ would benefit everyone,” Kroeger said.

Taken from her General Store, Kroeger said, was a violin and a package of dried white mulberries, only grown in Turkey. The violin was recovered from a nearby unlocked parked car.

Residents at the meeting asked what might be done to secure a few vacant local residences that might prove attractive to homeless people.

State Representative Anil Beephan (R-105), who attended the meeting, spoke of the state having removed mental health facilities from Dutchess County and said that he is advocating for more local control.

Other residents have commented on an apparent lack of an organized local team of qualified professionals who could coordinate a response to similar situations as they might occur. Help has been offered by individuals and organizations, but there has been no coordinated system to implement it.