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

VILLAGE OF WALDEN, NY — An Orange County man has been convicted for 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 convicted on Thursday after a jury trial of all charges against him, including third-degree criminal mischief, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct. The jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict after about an hour of deliberation.

Vanriper was then remanded to the Orange County Jail without bail, and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 28.

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.

DA 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.

"Police officers do a thankless and often dangerous job every day to make and keep our streets safe," Hoovler said. "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."