(Photo/Conrad Baker)
LIVINGSTON COUNTY – Sheriff Thomas Dougherty commended and thanked the New York State Division of Parole and partners in law enforcement at a 1 p.m. Thursday press conference regarding the six-day manhunt in the south of the county that ended Wednesday with the capture of parole absconder Richard ‘Boo’ Henry.
Sheriff Dougherty laid out in detail the events leading up to and during the chase, which involved approximately 70 members of law enforcement, including NYS Parole, from July 31 to August 5.
“I think Parole did what they should do, actively try to get him in custody,” said Sheriff Dougherty. “This is what Boo Henry has done since I’ve been a cop. He runs. Parole did nothing wrong and have worked very well with us.”
On July 31, a Deputy and Parole Officer were working on good information that Henry would be camping behind his mother’s house in Tuscarora, a hamlet of Mount Morris, when they approached the camp to arrest Henry for having a bad urine test and failing to report to Parole.
“I initially thought that it was a shoulder shove, but upon interviewing the Deputy I learned that while leading Henry in zip cuffs towards Union Corners Road, the Deputy tripped on an object in the lawn,” said Sheriff Dougherty. “The Parole Officer was blocking the family, as they have caused problems in the past. As soon as the Deputy stumbled, Boo Henry took off on foot while still in cuffs. He jumped a barbed wire fence with his hands behind his back, and went into the woods. The Deputy gave chase, got over the first fence, but didn’t see the second and was injured.”
Sheriff Dougherty said that he was confident that Henry would be able to remove the commonly used strong plastic zip cuffs within hours of his escape, as rubbing them on any strong object like a fence post would break them. After Henry ran off, there was no further contact with him until August 5.
“There was no line of sight to him. We could hear branches breaking but that was it,” said Sheriff Dougherty. “He was on his home turf, and he had a huge advantage. By 7:30 that night, we had exhausted our options, but we didn’t just go to bed […] This has been a top priority for us. This case is all I have worked on since July.”
Henry was found with his girlfriend, Shannon Goodwin, in her Jeep in the woods on Harpers Ferry Road at Carney Hollow Road. She, Henry’s mother, and anyone else who can be proved to have aided Henry in any way, will be charged with Hindering Prosecution. Goodwin is currently at the Livingston County Jail on $10,000 bond.
“We knew [Goodwin] would be our best angle of getting to him,” said Sheriff Dougherty. “Let me be perfectly clear, I’m not limiting it to anyone. Anyone who we can prove gave him food, water, or shelter will be charged.”
Henry is charged with Assault in the Second Degree, a D felony, and Escape in the Second Degree, an E felony, by felony complaint, as well as the original Violation of Parole.
“If it had been a shoulder shove, that’s just Harassment,” said Sheriff Dougherty, “but when you run and a Deputy gives chase, and that Deputy gets tangled and injured in a barbed wire fence, that’s an Assault in the Second Degree.”
Henry was asleep in the back of Goodwin’s Jeep when a SWAT team and Deputies approached.
“We had good information about where he was, but sat on it until the sun came up,” said Sheriff Dougherty. “A SWAT team and Deputies approached the car, and he was asleep in the back and had no idea we were there.”
Sheriff Dougherty added that getting Henry into custody before he committed further crimes has been a top priority for the Sheriff’s Office since July 31.
“It was only a matter of time before he was going to start committing burglaries, breaking into places for food and possibly getting access to weapons,” said Sheirff Dougherty. “This took a lot of manpower, and distracted from everything else we have to do. He is in jail without bail and is not going anywhere for a long time.”
The search efforts included members of the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, State Police, Environmental Conservation Police, Mount Morris Police Department, Federal Marshals, Border Patrol, Department of Homeland Security, and New York State Division of Parole.