DA: Middletown man set fire to home of state trooper's father
GOSHEN - A Middletown man has been charged with arson after he allegedly set fire to the home of the father of a state trooper who issued him traffic tickets.
The alleged arson happened on Dec. 21, 2023. Tyler Williams, 26, of Middletown, was arrested after an investigation that lasted almost five months.
According to Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler, Williams was pulled over by a state trooper on the evening of Dec. 20, 2023 and issued traffic tickets.
According to documents filed and statements made in court, a fire was started at the home of the state trooper's father in Warwick early the following morning.
An investigation by Warwick town police, the State Police Major Crimes Unit and Hoovler's office revealed that in the hours after being issued the traffic tickets, Williams used various search websites in an effort to learn the trooper's address.
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Town of Goshen police, the Orange County Sheriff's office, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assisted in that investigation, which led to the arrest of Williams this week.
Williams was charged with second-degree arson, a felony. He was arraigned and sent without bail to the Orange County jail, pending a conference in Orange County Court on May 21.
"This case represents every police officer's worst nightmare, and we will not rest until justice is done," Hoovler said in a statement released by his office.
The name of Williams' attorney was not immediately available.
Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record and the Poughkeepsie Journal. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com.
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Middletown man charged with arson at state trooper's father's home
