Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Found not guilty of most serious charge

PINE PLAINS — A 12-person jury found Stanfordville resident Christopher Craft Sr., 43, guilty of eight crimes after he brought a shotgun to Stissing Mountain Middle/High School last November and held the middle school principal in an office for two hours before peacefully surrendering. On the most serious charge, second-degree kidnapping, Craft was acquitted.

Craft was found guilty on single counts of second-degree burglary, second-degree criminal use of a firearm, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, criminal trespassing and unlawful imprisonment in the first degree, as well as three counts of menacing.

Craft’s trial, which took place in the Dutchess County Courthouse in Poughkeepsie earlier this month, lasted two weeks. The jury deliberated for more than five days before returning its verdicts.

It was on Nov. 10, 2009, that  Craft walked into the Stissing Mountain Middle/High School at approximately 7:30 a.m.

Shortly after entering the school, he assembled a shotgun and loaded it with a single shell. He then confronted the middle school office secretary, Margaret Bonneville, and demanded to speak with Middle School Principal Robert Hess or Dean of Students Dennis Malloy. Hess heard the demand and the two moved into Malloy’s office.

Soon afterward law enforcement officials surrounded the school, evacuating more than 700 students and staff, including Zachary Pruner, the only student in the middle school office complex when Craft entered. Pruner later escaped through an open window.

More than two hours later, Craft and Hess emerged from the office and Craft was arrested by New York State Police and Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office deputies. He was arraigned by Pine Plains Town Justice Louis Imperato.

In the aftermath of the incident, it was revealed through law enforcement reports and eventually in court that Craft told Hess his actions on Nov. 10 were an attempt to bring media attention to what he perceived to be unfair treatment by the U.S. Army toward his son, who had recently been discharged.

On Nov. 30 Craft was arraigned on 11 felony charges, but was found mentally incompetent to stand trial and was sent to a psychiatric hospital in Orange County for treatment and observation. Nearly two months later he was found competent to stand trial and was transferred to the Dutchess County Jail.

Jury selection for Craft’s trial began Sept. 28. County Court Judge Gerald Hayes presided over the case.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Ed Whitesell could not be reached in time to comment for this article. Following the verdict on Oct. 19, Craft released the following statement through his attorney, Chief Assistant Dutchess County Public Defender Thomas Angell:

“I apologize to the children, their families and the staff of the Pine Plains School District for the suffering I brought into their lives,� Craft stated. “My heart goes out particularly to Zachary Pruner for the emotional distress and harm I caused him.

“I realize I unacceptably visited my problems and despair on so many others,� he continued. “I’d like to thank Robert Hess for the humanity he showed and for the courage he displayed on Nov. 10, 2009. Without him, I sincerely believe I would not be here today.�

A kidnapping conviction would have carried a maximum sentence of 25 years. The most serious crimes Craft was found guilty of, the three burglary and weapons charges, each carry maximum sentences of 15 years. Craft will be sentenced by Hayes in court on Nov. 29.

Latest News

Legal Notices - July 9, 2026

Legal Notices - July 9, 2026

Legal Notice

BOND RESOLUTION DATED JUNE 15, 2026 OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE WEBUTUCK CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT AUTHORIZING NOT TO EXCEED $429,327 AGGREGATE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS AND/OR INSTALLMENT PURCHASE CONTRACTS TO FINANCE THE ACQUISITION OF A SCHOOL BUSES AND VEHICLES AT AN AGGREGATE ESTIMATED MAXIMUM COST OF$429,327, LEVY OF TAX IN ANNUAL INSTALLMENTS IN PAYMENT THEREOF TAKING INTO ACCOUNT STATE-AID, THE EXPENDITURE OF SUCH SUM FOR SUCH PURPOSE, AND DETERMINING OTHER MATTERS IN CONNECTION THERE-WITH.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tenmile Distillery is making history the old-fashioned way

Cheers! The Revolutionary Whisky Series at Ten Mile Distillery, each named for a significant battle of the American Revolution, celebrates America at 250.

D.H. Callahan

In December 2024, the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau officially established the Standard of Identity for American Single Malt Whisky. It was the first new classification in more than half a century, creating new possibilities for American distillers. One of the distilleries taking advantage of this new landscape is Wassaic’s Tenmile Distillery. It is well positioned to make history because Tenmile has always honored traditional whiskey-making practices.

Single malts are often associated with Scotch whisky. Perhaps that’s why, years before the new standard was adopted, Tenmile hired Shane Fraser, a Scottish master distiller with 30 years of experience at some of Scotland’s most prestigious distilleries. Fraser began designing the distillery from the ground up. Alongside owner and general manager Joel LeVangia, he emphasized time-honored traditions, favoring hands-on craftsmanship over the increasingly automated methods used by larger producers. When it comes to making the best whisky possible, Tenmile believes in learning from the past. That philosophy extends beyond the distilling process.

Keep ReadingShow less

The magic of Belinda Sinclair

The magic of Belinda Sinclair

Belinda Sinclair

Dean Chamberlain
Sinclair’s show explores the ways women have been practicing forms of magic for centuries, and there is plenty of history to tell.

Belinda Sinclair is the kind of magician who impresses people who don’t like magic. Her tricks are mind-boggling. Her stories are captivating. And if she picks you to write your name on a card, get ready to be wowed. Repeat attendees of her shows, of which there are many, take almost as much delight in watching new jaws drop as they do in seeing an illusion reach its astonishing conclusion.

Since the summer of 2025, Sinclair has been baffling local audiences at the Hughes Memorial Library in West Cornwall, but her magical run comes to a close at the end of August.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

“Nixon in China” comes to Tanglewood

“Nixon in China” comes to Tanglewood

Renée Fleming, Andris Nelsons and Thomas Hampson.

Hilary Scott

On Friday, July 17 at 8 p.m. in the Koussevitzky Music Shed at Tanglewood, two of the greatest American voices of their generation, soprano Renée Fleming and baritone Thomas Hampson, join Music Director Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra in a performance of excerpts from John Adams’ groundbreaking opera “Nixon in China.” The piece, performed earlier this year in Boston and at Carnegie Hall in New York City, is a highlight of a program that also includes “Meditations on Grace” (2024) by BSO Composer Chair Carlos Simon, and the melodic and technically demanding Violin Concerto by Samuel Barber.

Fleming is internationally celebrated for her vocal and dramatic artistry, as well as for her advocacy for the powerful impact of the creative arts in health. Hampson has long been recognized as one of the most innovative musicians of our time and has received countless international honors for his singular artistry and cultural leadership. Both performed in “Nixon in China” earlier this year at the Paris Opera under the baton of Kent Nagano.

Keep ReadingShow less
Local playwright revisits Revolutionary moment in “Rebel Town”

The cast and crew of “Rebeltown: The Musical.”

Jack Sheedy

John Alan Segalla was working in Boston a few years ago, giving historic tours at the site of the Boston Tea Party. Now, as America celebrates 250 years as a nation, the Canaan native is about to debut a new version of his original musical, “Rebel Town,” inspired largely by the Boston Tea Party, the protest that helped launch the American Revolution.

“It wasn’t until I got to Boston and learned the Tea Party story that I fell in love with this moment in history, and I saw the story as wildly compelling and very important, and really a story that was very misunderstood, mistaught in schools,” Segalla said at a recent rehearsal in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, ahead of the show’s July 10 opening.

Keep ReadingShow less
An invitation to paint a community mural in Torrington

Community mural design by Macayla Muzzulin will be painted by volunteers on July 11 in Franklin Plaza in Torrington.

Provided

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 11, Five Points Arts in Torrington will host a community mural project celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary. Volunteers of every age and artistic ability are invited to help paint a 20-by-6-foot mural designed by artist Macayla Muzzulin. The mural will be completed in one day, transformed from a numbered outline into a permanent public artwork along the river in downtown Torrington.

“We firmly believe art is for everyone,” said Five Points founder and executive director, Judith McElhone. “It’s so great to be able to do this with such talent, and with Launchpad artists, volunteers and staff there to help.”

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.