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Dutchess County Man Accosts Woman and Assaults Her Husband at Putnam Valley Store
Putnam County Sheriff Smith reports the arrest of Mr. Diego L. Zuniga, aged 27, of LaGrangeville, Dutchess County, for assault. It is alleged that he accosted a woman customer at a local gas station and then attacked her husband after he told the defendant to leave her alone.
The incident reportedly happened on June 16, 2007 at the Mobile-on-the-Run gas station and convenience store located near the Intersection of Bryant Pond Road and the Taconic State Parkway in Putnam Valley. The married couple, who are in their 30's and reside in Carmel, were reportedly standing in line at the checkout counter of the store when another customer - a man whom they say appeared to be highly intoxicated and who was later Identified as Mr. Zuniga - approached the woman and commenced to sputter sexual overtures.
The woman's husband told Mr. Zuniga to stop bothering his wife or else he would call the police. The couple then left the store and walked to the gasoline pumps outside, where the husband began to refuel the couple's car. Mr. Zuniga reportedly followed them outside and berated the other man in an apparent effort to provoke a fight. The other man ignored Mr. Zuniga's challenges, but the defendant then attacked him, grabbing him and tripping him to the ground. The defendant pounced upon the prone victim and punched him in his head several times, inflicting a contusion to his head and spraining his shoulder.
A store clerk intervened and pulled Mr. Zuniga off the victim, and then managed to call 911 to summon help. The defendant fled from the station by driving off in a car before sheriff's patrols arrived.
Deputy Sheriff Brian Aisenstat investigated the complaint and identified the culprit as Mr. Zuniga. The defendant, accompanied by his lawyer, turned himself in at the Sheriffs Office headquarters on July 31st and was charged with Assault in the Third Degree, a class A misdemeanor. That offense is punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine upon conviction. The defendant was booked and released in the recognizance of his lawyer, pending an August 21st appearance in the Town of Putnam Valley Justice Court before Justice Gina Capone.
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