Crime & Safety
UPDATE: Police Capture New City Man Sought in Upstate Slaying
Resident of drug treatment facility also accused in stabbing of nurse during getaway attempt.
After a daylong search in the woods of upstate Ulster County, a New City man wanted in connection with the slaying of a security guard and the stabbing of a nurse early Wednesday morning at the drug rehabilitation facility where he was a patient has been capture, according to police.
The search for Richard N. Giga, 25, involved at least 80 state and local police officers and led to the lockdown of schools in the area near the Renaissance Center on Ulster Heights Road in the Town of Wawarsing. In New City, Clarkstown police said they are assisting with the investigation.
Ulster County Sheriff Paul Van Blarcum said that Giga was arrested when police raided an abandoned home in Wawarsing around 6 p.m. Wednesday. Giga is expected to be arraigned today on charges connected to the slaying and abduction and stabbing.
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The Ulster County Sheriff's Office said Renaissance Center security guard Leland Wood, 61, of Napanoch was killed in an incident at the drug and alcohol rehabilatation center at about 3:08 a.m. Wednesday. The Sheriff's Office soon after said Giga was wanted in connection with the slaying and with the abduction of a 35-year-old nurse at the facility.
Police said Giga is accused of forcing the nurse to drive him from the Renaissance Center and stabbing her several times in the abdomen and chest, causing the nurse to crash and roll her vehicle over. She was taken to Ellenville Hospital by a passerby and then taken to St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie.
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Police said the nurse underwent surgery and is in stable condition.
After the crash, police said Giga fled on foot in a rural area just outside the Village of Ellenville. After his arrest, police said Giga was taken to Kingston Hospital for treatment of injuries he sustained in the crash. Police said they located Giga by tracing a telephone call he had made.
Police said Giga was participating in drug rehabilitation treatment at the center as the result of his arrest in a 2008 incident in New City.
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