Arrests made, Watkins case dismissed

Arrests made, Watkins case dismissed

WATKINS GLEN--The New York State Police reported Friday, Dec. 3 they arrested Brandon and Danielle Matthews on superior court warrants. Brandon Matthews was the former sergeant in charge of the Watkins Glen Police Department and has been on administrative leave as a patrol officer since August of 2020.
State police said Brandon was charged with eight counts of perjury first degree, and one count of official misconduct. Danielle was charged with two counts of perjury first degree, and one count of perjury third degree.
Yates County District Attorney, Todd Casella, has been brought in as a special prosecutor for this case.
State police said both subjects are awaiting arraignment on the charges.
A notice of claim against the Watkins Glen mayor and the village became public earlier this year after a podcast interview was done with Danielle. On the podcast, Danielle talked at length about a search warrant that was executed at their residence and about the alleged conduct of the mayor.
In relation to the search warrant, court documents said "On Aug. 6, 2020, Investigator Backer submitted an inventory to the Schuyler County Court identifying the following items seized from the plaintiffs' home, outbuildings and surrounding property during the Aug. 5 search: "41 marijuana plants in various stages of growth, marijuana, digital scale, packaging materials, marijuana seeds, stolen property..."
Matthews was not indicted after facts were presented to a grand jury.
A complaint was filed by the Matthews' April 8, 2021, largely mirroring the notice of claim.
The attorney for the mayor and village moved for the action to be dismissed entirely in May. Oral arguments were held on July 23 after the plaintiffs opposed the dismissal request.
In new court documents dated Nov. 30, 2021, Supreme Court Justice Joseph McBride dismissed the case. In the analysis and discussion section of the ruling, each charge was broken down with the conclusion that the standard was not met and the case should be dismissed. The causes of action included: abuse of power and process; hostile work environment; sexual harassment as a quid pro quo; and defamation. Three earlier charges were also dropped at the oral argument including loss of consortium, intentional infliction of emotional distress and assault.
In conclusion, the court wrote, "The court finds that plaintiffs' complaint fails to state any claim. Plaintiffs' complaint fails to allege any facts that support any element to the proposed causes of action. Based upon the foregoing, defendant's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim is granted in its entirety and the matter is dismissed."