An Army sergeant from Newburgh has been charged with murder in the New Year’s Day shooting of a man in Plattekill.
According to the Ulster County District Attorney’s office, Junando Dawkins, 29, of Newburgh, was extradited from North Carolina, where he was taken into custody at Fort Bragg as he was about to deploy overseas.
Dawkins was arraigned Friday on an indictment charging him with one count of second-degree murder and three counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, both felonies.
Ulster County Surrogate Court Judge Sara McGinty ordered Dawkins held without bail in Ulster County Jail, pending further court action.
According to the district attorney’s office, Dawkins is accused of the murder of Daniel Spotards, a 41-year-old father of two whose body was found by a local sanitation worker at the end of his driveway in the town of Plattekill on Jan. 2.
The resulting investigation showed that Spotards had been shot multiple times on Jan. 1. No motive for the shooting was given.
Dawkins faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison if he is convicted of the murder charge.
The name of his attorney was not immediately available.