Metro-North Train Station Incident Leads To Brewster Man's Second Arrest In 18 Hours: Police

BREWSTER, NY — A Putnam County man was arrested for the second time in less than 24 hours, after a disturbing incident on a Hudson Line train, according to officials.

Sheriff Brian Hess announced the arrest of 24-year-old Diego Rodriguez-Ordonez, of Brewster, following a reported forcible touching aboard a train at the Southeast train station.

It was his second arrest in 18 hours.

On Tuesday, at 9:09 p.m., Putnam County 911 dispatched sheriff's deputies to the Southeast Metro-North Train Station after a female passenger reported being forcibly touched by a man on a train.

The suspect had already fled by the time deputies arrived.

A sheriff's deputy found Rodriguez-Ordonez, who had been arrested hours earlier, near the train yard, but when the deputy approached, Rodriguez-Ordonez refused commands and resisted arrest, according to the department. A Taser was deployed, and he was taken into custody, according to the sheriff.

Rodriguez-Ordonez was charged with forcible touching, obstructing governmental administration, resisting arrest and criminal trespass.

He was arraigned in Southeast Justice Court, where bail was set.

Earlier that same day, around 3:05 a.m., sheriff's deputies assisted the Kent Police Department at the Sinclair gas station in the Town of Kent, where Rodriguez-Ordonez assaulted a store clerk who tried to stop him from stealing merchandise, according to the sheriff. Deputies found Rodriguez-Ordonez hiding in a swampy area near the gas station and took him into custody.

He was charged by the Kent Police Department with robbery and assault. Kent police also charged Rodriguez-Ordonez with felony criminal mischief in connection with a separate incident at a nearby bank.

"Two arrests. Two victims," Sheriff Hess said. "Eighteen hours. This individual was back on our streets just hours after his first arrest. This type of predatory behavior has no place in Putnam County. I am grateful that neither victim was seriously injured, and I commend our Deputies and our partners at the Kent Police Department for their swift and thorough police work."