Man Accused Of Race-Based Threat In Yorktown

YORKTOWN, NY — Police accused a Yorktown Heights man of threatening to kill a woman who was walking in a local park with her child because of her race. Yorktown police said Sidney M. Russ, 47, of Yorktown Heights, was charged with second-degree aggravated harassment, a misdemeanor.

On March 27, police received a walk-in complaint about harassment at police headquarters from a woman who had been walking on the track at the Jack A. DeVito Veterans Memorial Track & Field on Veterans Road.

Officers investigated and identified the man as Russ.

The victim said that he followed and threatened to kill her based on her race while she and her young child were walking the track, police said.

Officers located Russ around 12:30 p.m. March 29 at the park and placed him under arrest.

He was arraigned, and the judge issued a temporary order of protection in favor of the victim.

Russ was sent to the Westchester County Department of Corrections in lieu of $7,500 bail.

He is scheduled to appear in Yorktown Justice Court April 2.

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