Gas Station Bully Who Started Fight, Damaged Property, Threatened Family, Gets Prison: DA

PINE BUSH, NY — An Orange County man is finally headed to prison after a wild night of crime in December 2024.

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that 43-year-old Anthony Vanriper, of Pine Bush, was sentenced on April 28, to one to three years in state prison for having damaged property belonging to the Village of Walden Police Department.

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On March 5, Vanriper was convicted after a jury trial in Orange County Court of all charges against him, including third-degree criminal mischief, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct.

SEE ALSO: Cops Called 3 Times After Man Started Fight, Damaged Property, Threatened People At The Gas Station: DA

According to prosecutors, on December 11, 2024, Village of Walden Police Department officers responded to a report of a fight in progress.

At the scene, police found Vanriper being physically restrained by several people who said he had started an altercation. He was told to move along and was released without charges.

However, police soon returned after being notified that Vanriper was allegedly damaging property. He was once again told to go home without being arrested.

When police soon responded a third time, they found an "erratic, aggressive and non-compliant Vanriper threatening people" in front of a gas station.

After being unable to deescalate Vanriper's behavior, officers tried to place him under arrest. However, Vanriper refused to be handcuffed, walked away from police, and started to smoke a cigarette and drink an alcoholic beverage in the gas station.

After additional officers arrived to assist, Vanriper continued to physically resist but was eventually arrested and taken to the Walden Police Department.

After being placed in a holding cell for arrest processing, Vanriper repeatedly kicked and destroyed the toilet in the cell, amounting to $875 in damage.

Hoovler thanked the Village of Walden Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff's Office, and the Town of Montgomery Police Department for the arrest and conviction of Vanriper.

"State prison was an appropriate sentence for an offender who refused repeated attempts by the police to de-escalate his threatening behavior, and who instead violently resisted his lawful arrest and destroyed municipal property," Hoovler said. "Police officers do a thankless and often dangerous job every day to make and keep our streets safe. There was no reason for the events of this case to have occurred and the defendant's unjustified conduct deserves to be accounted for. I commend the work of the law enforcement professionals who were involved in this case and I am proud of the dedication of the prosecutor responsible for securing the conviction before a jury of the defendant’s peers."