For arrested in robbery, serious assault

LAGRANGE – Four Newburgh men were arrested Saturday after they allegedly assaulted and robbed a customer in the parking lot of the Hess gas station on Route 55 near Titusville Road in the Town of LaGrange, the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office reported. The victim required surgery and is in intensive care.

Police responded to a report of an attack at 4:15 a.m. Saturday. The victim, a 46-year-old man from Poughkeepsie, had been inside the store along with the four suspects when he observed them stealing merchandise. The man alerted the clerk, after which the men followed the victim outside and assaulted and robbed him in retaliation for his reporting what they did.

The victim was transported to St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie for treatment and had undergone surgery for head injuries. He was listed in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Deputies investigated the attack and arrested the suspects identified as Andrew Sumahit, 22, Asuncion Barrera, 24, Elio Rodriguez, 24, and Thomas Torres, 16, all from Newburgh. They were all charged with robbery in the first degree and gang assault in the first degree. They were arraigned and remanded to the Dutchess County Jail on $100,000 cash bail or $200,000 bond each.

A fifth person in the group was not charged and has been released.

Sheriff’s officials and the State Police are continuing the investigation.