Dover, New York – On December 6, 2021, the New York State Police from the Dover Plains barracks responded to a possible robbery in the town of Dover.

Troopers were dispatched to a home on Market Street at approximately 11:53 p.m., after a caller to 911 reported that a group of men attacked them, and one attacker armed with a handgun fired a single shot.  None of the victims were seriously injured, and the attackers fled on foot with stolen jewelry.

An intensive investigation by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation determined the perpetrators, Joshua A. Benson, age 40, Joshua A Benson Jr., age 23, Nicholas L. Gast, age 34, and Darius L. Robinson, age 19, all from Dover, targeted the victims based on their race.  All four were arrested for Robbery in the 1^st degree as a hate crime, a class B felony.

All four subjects were arraigned before the town of Dover Court and remanded to the Dutchess County Jail pending future court proceedings.  Darius Robinson and Joshua Benson Jr. were remanded in lieu of $50,000 cash bail, $100,000 secure bond, or $200,000 partially secure bond.  Nicholas Gast and Joshua Benson were remanded without bail.