Putnam County Sheriff Donald B. Smith reports the recent arrest of a Connecticut man on a felony charge of possessing a forged instrument.

On May 29, 2015, the Sheriff’s Department received a complaint from Town of Southeast parking enforcement officials concerning a parked vehicle bearing a fraudulent parking permit at the Metro-North Commuter Railroad Southeast station.

An ensuing investigation by members of the Sheriff’s Patrol Division and Bureau of Criminal Investigation led to an impound of the vehicle and a search warrant obtained for a search of the vehicle. The search yielded two fraudulent parking permits and an aerosol can with a false bottom that, when unscrewed, was discovered to contain approximately 16 ounces of marijuana. The registered owner of the vehicle was determined to be Josue M. Velez, 33, of 20 Oakland Avenue, Danbury, Connecticut.

On June 11, 2015 at approximately 3:15 p.m., Mr. Velez was arrested by members of the BCI after he disembarked from a northbound train at the Southeast station. Mr. Velez was charged with two counts of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, a felony; and with Unlawful Possession of Marijuana, a violation. The defendant was arraigned before Town of Patterson Justice Anthony Mole and committed to the Putnam County Correctional Facility in lieu of $5,000.00 cash bail or $10,000.00 bond pending a June 18, 2015 appearance in the Town of Southeast Justice Court to answer the charges.

An annual parking permit is valued at approximately $590.00 for non-town residents. If found guilty of the felony charges, the defendant could face up to five years in a New York State Correctional Facility and a fine of up to $5,000.00 for each charge.