By Dan Hust
MOUNTAINDALE — September 21, 2001 – Allegedly shot by at least two robbers, 22-year-old Arthur Hayes of Ellenville was left to die on the concrete surface of a basketball court on Post Hill Road in Mountaindale Tuesday night – the apparent victim, say Fallsburg police, of drug-related activity.
Charged with first-degree robbery are 25-year-old Robert Dawson and 19-year-old Tyrese Hilliard, both of Monticello. Murder charges will likely follow.
Police interviewed witnesses and then made the arrests around 1 a.m. yesterday morning. More arrests may be coming, as police and the SC District Attorney’s Office believe others were also involved in a plot to rob Hayes of $5,000 allegedly intended to purchase drugs.
Both suspects were arraigned in front of Town of Fallsburg Justice Bart Rasnick and sent to Sullivan County Jail without bail.
Fallsburg police have been assisted in their investigation by the NY State Police and the Monticello Police Department.