Michael T. Baldwin Reports:
On May 3rd, 2022, at approximately 6:00pm, Cuba Police arrested Robert K. Amundson (68) of Cuba. Amundson was arrested on charges of trespass (Violation), criminal mischief 4th as a hate crime (Felony) and several outstanding warrants. Amundson was processed and sent to the Allegany County Jail on $5000.00 bail. Amundson is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of Law.
Michael T. digs a little deeper…..
The incident was from February, but the suspect was out of state, hence the delayed arrest. The hate crime designation was rendered after consultation with the DA’s office. It met the criteria for the elevated count. While not egregious, it rose to the level of a hate crime level, which is typically based on a racial or sexual orientation event. Areawide, police say they have an increased level of these crimes since the beginning of the pandemic. I just spoke with Alfred Police Chief Paul Griffith, who admitted that by far and away, Alfred was the most culturally diverse community in the county. They have 1, maybe two hate crime charges per year. The pandemic assisted because for the past two years, students were not on campus. Griffith said ” there are not a lot of hate crimes in Alfred, despite the diversity. Griffith said the most recent Hot Dog Day was “pretty smooth.”
