Cousins convicted in violent abduction of Greece siblings that prompted Amber Alert

UPDATE (May 24, 2022): The man accused of arranging the kidnapping of his two young children and his cousin, who was accused of kidnapping the children, were convicted Monday in state Supreme Court.

Dimitri Cash, 30, and his cousin Joenathan Cash, 23, were both convicted of two counts of first-degree burglary, second-degree robbery and two counts of fourth-degree conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 18, 2021 home invasion and kidnapping of Dimitri Cash's two young children, according to the Monroe County District Attorney's Office.

Dimitri Cash was convicted of the 19-count indictment, which included two counts of first-degree kidnapping, among other charges. Joenathan Cash was also convicted of second-degree kidnapping and three counts of first-degree unlawful imprisonment for his role in the abduction of Dimitri Cash Jr., 5, and his sister Shekeria Cash, 3.

“Dimitri and Joenathan Cash plotted for weeks to commit these heinous crimes, terrorizing an innocent family and ripping two children from the security of their own beds,” said Assistant District Attorney Sara VanStrydonck, who prosecuted the case with ADA Patrick Gallagher.

Dimitri Cash Jr. and his sister Shekeria Cash were forcibly taken from their foster home on English Road in Greece around 8:40 p.m. on Jan. 18, 2021 by two masked, unidentified suspects.

The siblings were located by federal law enforcement officials less than 48 hours later in Montgomery, Alabama after police tracked a rental car there. They were unharmed and were reunited with their foster family within a few days.

“The acts that Dimitri and Joenathan Cash committed not only affected his intended victim’s lives but also the foster family and community who searched to bring the children home safely,” Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley said in a news release. “I am pleased we were able to hold them accountable and secure justice for the unspeakable things they plotted and carried out.”

A third suspect Kimara Pluviose, now 33, is accused of breaking into the home and abducting the children with Joenathan Cash. She remains in the Monroe County Jail and her case is pending.

The Cash cousins are scheduled to be sentenced by state Supreme Court Justice Victoria Argento on July 28.

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ORIGINAL STORY (March 2, 2021): A third person has been charged in connection with the violent abduction of two Greece siblings in January as a 19-count felony indictment was revealed by Greece police this week.

Dimitri Cash Jr., 5, and his sister Shekeria Cash, 3, were forcibly taken from their foster home on English Road around 8:40 p.m. on Jan. 18 by two masked, unidentified suspects.

The siblings were located by federal law enforcement officials less than 48 hours later in Montgomery, Alabama after police tracked a rental car there. They were unharmed and were reunited with their foster family within a few days.

According to court documents released Tuesday, Joenathan Cash, 22, and Kimara Pluviose, 32, were the two accused of breaking into the house and abducting the siblings. Dimitri Cash Sr., 29, the children's biological father, planned the kidnapping from their foster home with his cousin Joenathan Cash and his girlfriend Pluviose.

In January, Dimitri Cash and Pluviose were both charged with several felonies, including second-degree kidnapping, in the "forcible" abduction of Dimitri Cash's children from their home on English Road on Jan. 18.

Pluviose was apprehended on Jan. 20 as she drove away from the home in Montgomery, Alabama where officials tracked the siblings. They were found underneath a blanket on the floorboard of the backseat of the vehicle Pluviose was driving.

Dimitri Cash "searched for information about the residence of the victims" on Dec. 27, the indictment alleged. Dimitri Cash and Pluviose rented a home in Alabama the week before the abduction, according to the indictment. Pluviose allegedly rented a Volkswagen Tiguan sport utility vehicle on Jan. 18 before driving to Alabama.

The Cash cousins and Pluviose communicated and coordinated regarding planning the abduction on Jan. 18, and that Joenathan Cash and Pluviose were the two to break into the home and abduct the children.

Greece Police Chief Andrew Forsythe said that he believes Dimitri Cash masterminded, and that his cousin and girlfriend carried out the plan to enter the home and take the children, who apparently did not know Joenathan Cash or Pluviose.

"The kids were extremely upset," Forsythe said, noting that the children were reunited with their foster family in January and "are doing as well as can be expected."

The abduction

Dimitri Jr. and Shekeria Cash were abducted during bedtime, after two people broke through a window and restrained their foster mother with duct tape. Five other foster children were in the home. All of the kids are under the age of 10.

Court documents also allege that the intruders pushed the foster mother, who was duct taped to two children, down the basement stairs within the house and struck her multiple times.

The assailants went upstairs and forcibly removed the Cash children from the home. The two suspects stole the family's van and abandoned the vehicle about a mile away, near an apartment complex on Whitehall Drive.

Police believe that the children were moved to another vehicle there.

An Amber Alert was activated just before midnight on Jan. 18. The alert was canceled at 6:17 p.m. on Jan. 20, according to New York State Police.

The indictment

In a nine-page, 19-count indictment unsealed in state Supreme Court Monday morning and released by the Monroe County District Attorney's Office on Tuesday, the Cash cousins and Pluviose are all facing numerous felony charges. The breakdown is as follows:

Dimitri Cash, Joenathan Cash and Kimara Pluviose were all charged with two counts of first-degree burglary, one count of second-degree robbery and two counts of fourth-degree conspiracy, all felonies.

Dimitri Cash was also charged with two counts of first-degree kidnapping, one count of second-degree reckless endangerment, two counts of second-degree custodial interference, two counts of second-degree criminal contempt, all felonies. He was also charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.

Joenathan Cash and Pluviose were both charged with two counts of second-degree kidnapping and three counts of unlawful imprisonment, all felonies.

The trio was arraigned Monday morning in state Supreme Court by Justice Victoria Argento. All three are being held in the Monroe County Jail without bail. They are due to return to court on April 22.

Contact Victoria Freile at vfreile@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @vfreile and Instagram @vfreile. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.  

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Cousins convicted in abduction of Greece siblings