2 Indicted After Motel Contractor Shakedown In Rockland

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — Two men accused of holding a contractor at gunpoint for hours at a Garnerville motel have been indicted on charges of robbery and kidnapping, Rockland County District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh II announced Tuesday.

Monsey resident Jonathan Abikzer, 30, and New City resident Michael Galkovich, 46, were both charged with Robbery in the First Degree, Kidnapping in the Second Degree, and two counts of Robbery in the Second Degree.

The incident unfolded Aug. 16, when a man called the Town of Haverstraw Police Department to report that he had been the victim of a robbery.

Police learned that he met two people at the motel under the assumption he was giving an estimate to renovate motel rooms. Once inside one of the rooms, he was held at gunpoint for several hours and eventually was forced to transfer money to the two men, prosecutors allege.

After he did so, he was released unharmed, the DA said.

"No individual should be held against their will under the threat of violence," Walsh said in the announcement. "I commend the exceptional investigative work by the Haverstraw Police Department Detective Bureau that led to the quick apprehension of the alleged suspects in this case. Also assisting the Haverstraw PD were the Clarkstown Police Department, the Ramapo Police Department, Rockland County Sheriff’s Office, Rockland County Intel Unit, and the New York City Police Department."

Arraignment dates have not yet been provided for either man. The case is being prosecuted by Executive Assistant District Kathleen Devlin. It should be noted that a criminal complaint is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.