Mt. Pleasant Dems Accuse Town of Politicizing Burglary in Release

Leadership of the Mount Pleasant Democratic Committee harshly criticized town officials last week for publicizing the citizenship status of one of two suspects who were apprehended for their alleged involvement in a Nov. 1 house burglary.

The committee issued a statement blasting the town for posting a press release last Tuesday with “inflammatory” information that stated the suspects may be part of a South American burglary ring and that one of the alleged perpetrators is in the United States illegally.

Committee Chair Joanne Sold and Vice Chair Francesca Hagadus said they took the unusual step to call out the town because there have rarely been press releases posted about comparable offenses in other instances.

“I’m glad the police did such a good job,” Hagadus said. “Unfortunately, we’ve had prior burglaries and none of them have been put on the town website, and it seems that they put it there to comment on a political situation.”

The Nov. 5 release outlined how Johan Matallana-Gomez, 29, and Jhonn Pulido Betancur, 46, were arrested after a resident on Swanson Drive called police shortly after 8 p.m. on Nov. 1 after they heard glass break. Arriving officers discovered a broken rear window, prompting police to set up a perimeter around the house.

Moments later Matallana-Gomez fled through a rear sliding door, and in a desperate escape attempt, tried vaulting over a fence to a lower terraced yard but fractured his right ankle when landing. He was immediately apprehended.

Officers then tackled Pulido Betancur after he tried to escape by jumping from a second-floor deck.

“It was a fantastic job by patrol, and I am super proud of their quick response and professionalism,” Police Chief Paul Oliva was quoted in the release. “Unfortunately, we are not immune from the problems caused by an open border policy, but we will continue to do our job to protect the community.”

The posted release also said the investigation is centering on whether there are links to a South American burglary organization that targets families of Indian or Chinese descent, which is a category the victimized family fall into. The suspects also left behind a Wi-Fi jammer, which disables Wi-Fi connections and security cameras and has commonly been used by a particular gang, according to the report.

Sold said it was odd that the town would release the status of one of the suspects, especially during a recently completed campaign season that was tense and members of the community have been worried about issues surrounding the JCCA campus. The town has been in litigation in hopes of preventing unaccompanied minor children from being housed at the campus.

Sold also criticized the mention that both suspects could be eligible for release due to the state’s current bail laws.

“Why would an elected official and the chief of police put in inflammatory information that is only going to further exacerbate the divisive issues in our community,” Sold said.

Supervisor Carl Fulgenzi said when word gets out in the community of an incident, concerned residents ask town officials for timely and accurate information. Too often, the rumor mill generates misinformation unless it is clarified through an official source.

“It’s an unfortunate situation that happened and luckily the police department was able to contain it,” Fulgenzi said.

He said it is common in police reports to indicate where arrested parties live or are from.

“We’re dealing with an influx of migrants from South America, Venezuela, stuff like that, so people want to know this stuff,” Fulgenzi added. “They ask us these questions. Where are they from? Are they legal or are they illegal? You try to be fair and get the proper information. We’re not trying to slant anything in a certain direction to make anybody look bad. These are facts. We have factual information that we have from our police department.”

When asked whether there would have been a press release about the incident had both suspects been American citizens, Fulgenzi replied that there would have been.

The committee’s statement said the officials should avoid divisive comments.

“Public resources should be used to inform our residents of important information without unnecessary inflammatory characterizations,” its release stated. “And we would hope that public officials, especially when acting in their capacity as public servants, would avoid divisive political rhetoric. Our town officials should be mindful of making sure statements help to lower the temperature rather than fuel the flame.”

Fulgenzi said the department is trying to do a better job of dispensing information to the public. However, there are limits, especially with the Cottage School on the JCCA campus where there have been frequent calls for police response. But officials also don’t want the public unnecessarily alarmed, he said.

The two suspects were arraigned and charged with second-degree burglary, a Class C felony. Matallana-Gomez was in custody at Westchester Medical Center and Betancur was remanded to the Westchester County Jail.