July 7, 2015 -- Local knowledge of the Mount Kisco community and skillful investigation enabled Westchester County Police to make a quick arrest Tuesday in the homicide case in the village.
Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino said the success of the police showed the value of a new policing model where most village police operations have been consolidated with those of the county police.
The efforts of the police led to the arrest of 34-year old Freddy Coronado, who was apprehended on the run in New Jersey in the death of Jose Sanchez, 53, whose body was found in a wooded area of Mount Kisco over the weekend.
The arrest was announced Tuesday by Astorino, Westchester Police Commissioner George Longworth and Mount Kisco Mayor Michael Cindrich.
"A little over a month ago, I was in this building to swear in 24 former members of the Mount Kisco Police Department into the ranks of the Westchester County Police," Astorino said. "That event was a happy one as we celebrated the launch of a new partnership between Westchester County and Mount Kisco. This terrible crime put this new policing model quickly to the test. The results speak for themselves."
Astorino also noted that the team of detectives who solved the case was made up of former Mount Kisco officers and longtime members of the county police.
"This investigation brought the best of both worlds to the task. The former members of the Mount Kisco Police Department, particularly the detectives who are still assigned here, made great use of their knowledge of the community, and its people, to develop important leads," Astorino said. "The substantial investigative resources of other elements of the county police were also critical. Detectives from numerous units contributed mightily to tracking a killer who had a 24-hour head start and who had fled the state."
Longworth thanked the Westchester County District Attorney's Office, the Harrison, N.J. Police Department and the New Jersey Transit Police for their assistance in the investigation, which he said is continuing.