An Ulster County man has been arrested after his car was found torched in a field in the Town of Thompson.

On Friday August 23, 2019 at about 1:30 AM, a patrol from the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a car burning in a field on Thompsonville Road in the Town of Thompson.

At the scene, deputies found the Monticello Fire Department extinguishing a 2018 Jeep Renegade Latitude which had been fully engulfed in fire.

About an hour later, deputies received a report that the Jeep had been stolen from the parking lot of the Resort World Casino. Deputies responded to the casino and interviewed Shane D. George, 21, of Napanoch, N.Y.

George, who was employed as a senior banker at the casino told the deputies that he was on a break at about 2:30 a.m. when he noticed that his car was missing.

Undersheriff Eric Chaboty said:

The Sheriff’s deputies on the scene were immediately skeptical of Mr. George’s story. The Resort World Casino is one of the safest places in the county and is heavily patrolled by both the Sheriff and state police.

As the investigation progressed, sheriff’s detectives determined that the vehicle theft was completely fabricated. On September 10, detectives arrested Naasiruddeen Alston, 21, of Napanoch, N.Y. and charged him with the felonies of arson in the third-degree, criminal mischief second-degree and conspiracy in the fourth-degree.

He was arraigned before Judge Michael McGuire and released, on his own recognizance. On September 12, detectives arrested Shane George and charged him with the felonies of arson third-degree, conspiracy fourth-degree, as well as the Misdemeanors of Insurance Fraud fifth-degree and falsely reporting an Incident in the third-degree.

George was arraigned and remanded to the Sullivan County Jail in lieu of $5,000 bail. On the same day of George’s arrest, the insurance claim that had been made against the vehicle was withdrawn.

Both men are due back in the Town of Thompson Court at a later date. The Sheriff’s Office advises that the investigation is not over

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