4 From Hudson Valley Charged in Connection With Gruesome Murder

Four residents from the Hudson Valley were indicted for the "violent death" of a local man.

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On Thursday in Orange County Court, Robert Haskell, 55, Timothy Smith, 37, Seth Pelsang, 30, all of Goshen and Courtney Clemenza, 32, of Chester were charged in connection with the Dec. 18, 2019, slaying of a man on Kipp Road in the Town of Goshen.

Haskell, Smith and Pelsang were charged with crimes including murder and kidnapping. Haskell was also charged with criminal possession of a weapon. Clemenza was charged with manslaughter, kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child.

During the bail application, prosecutors argued that on Dec. 18, 2019, the deceased man went to the house where Haskell, Pelsang and Smith lived armed with a shotgun. After the man was disarmed by the residents and restrained, Haskell then beat him with a baseball bat. Prosecutors argued that all the defendants helped tie-up the injured man. The man was placed inside Clemenza’s car and he was driven to another area in the Village of Chester where he was left on the side of the road, bound and wounded. After about 20 minutes a motorist noticed the motionless, bound man. He was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead.

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“This man suffered a violent death that was as foreseeable as it was preventable,” Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler said. “Individuals cannot be allowed to take the law into their own hands or settle disputes with violence. My deepest condolences go out to the family and loved ones of the deceased victim.”

Clemenza, Pelsang and Haskell were remanded to the Orange County Jail with no bail. Smith was remanded to the jail in lieu of $750,000 cash bail