Parents, relatives avoid jail time in Columbia County case involving girl s death
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Columbia County DA Paul Czajka speaks with reporters following sentencing of former Troy police officers John Comitale and Ron Epstein in Rensselaer County Court for sentencing Tuesday Nov. 13, 2018 in Troy, NY. (John Carl D Annibale/Times Union)John Carl D Annibale/Albany Times Union
HUDSON - The parents and relatives who pleaded guilty to child endangerment charges in a case involving the death of a girl were sentenced in Columbia County Court to three years of probation and ordered to complete 50 hours of community service on Thursday.
None of the defendants were sentenced to jail, including the parents, Steven Bennett, 58, and Heidi Trangberg-Bennett, 47, who were originally charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of their 12-year-old daughter, Evanna.
Columbia County Democrats have endorsed candidates for this year’s local elections.
The Columbia County Democratic Committee is out with four endorsements including Don Krapf, a 23-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office, for County Sheriff. Committee Chair Keith Kanaga: He is really well qualified to be sheriff given his decades in law enforcement, and also his vision for the future of law enforcement, his vision for taking the sheriff s department to another level in Columbia County.
Krapf says he is commited to changing the office to meet the moment, and become more connected to the community it serves. I m running for sheriff on a community centric based platform to improve the relationships within the community, the diverse community that Columbia County is, and to increase the emphasis on training, implicit bias, cultural sensitivity, sensitivity training.
HUDSON â A Stockport man was sentenced Tuesday to 6-18 years in state prison after hiring a man to set his home on fire in 2017.
Columbia County District Attorney Paul Czajka said Tuesday that County Judge Richard Koweek sentenced Barry Goldstein, 77, to an indeterminate term of 6-18 years in state prison.
âI donât believe weâve had an insurance fraud case quite like this in all the years I have been working in the criminal justice system in Columbia County; if so, I do not recall it,â Czajka said.
The sentencing comes about 11 months after Goldstein was found guilty in January 2020 of first-degree insurance fraud, a class B felony, and third-degree arson, a class C felony. The nine-day trial concluded Jan. 15, according to the district attorney. At that time Goldstein had been acquitted of another charge, first-degree reckless endangerment, a class D felony.
AUSTERLITZ â An Austerlitz family has pleaded guilty in the death of a 12-year-old girl.
The girlâs parents, along with five other family members, pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child, a class A misdemeanor, in relation to the 2019 death of the child.
âThis conviction is in full satisfaction of all charges,â Columbia County District Attorney Paul Czajka said.
The family members had previously been charged with second-degree manslaughter, a class C felony. Family members had pleaded not guilty to the previous charge.
Czajka announced Wednesday that Judge Richard Koweek had accepted the guilty pleas in Columbia County Court.