DWI Conviction in Town of Harpersfield Court

HARPERSFIELD – District Attorney Shawn Smith announced today that Richard Coogan, 67, of Harpersfield, pleaded guilty to Driving While Intoxicated, and Aggravated Unlicensed Operation in the Third Degree, both Unclassified Misdemeanors on July 21, 2026, at the Town of Harpersfield Court. Coogan was sentenced by the Honorable Lawrence Musella to a one-year conditional discharge. The judge also ordered that the defendant’s license be revoked for 6 months. If he obtains a license, he will need to install an ignition interlock device in any vehicle he owns or operates. He will also have to attend a Victim Impact Panel. The Honorable Judge Musella also ordered that the defendant undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation and comply with any treatment recommendations. The judge imposed the maximum fines allowed by law. If the defendant fails to comply with any of these conditions, he is subject to being resentenced to 1 year in jail.

On March 6, 2026, Delaware County Sheriff Deputy Lucas Elmore was dispatched to a one car motor vehicle accident on Moxham Road near Middlebrook Hill Road in the Town of Harpersfield. As he arrived, he observed the vehicle had been traveling northerly on Middlebrook Hill Road and was taking a right hand turn onto Moxham Road. The vehicle drove through the intersection and struck a utility pole causing the pole to snap, and the telephone lines fell in the roadway and on the truck. Deputy Elmore walked up to the occupant of the vehicle who was later identified as Richard Coogan, and observed him to have glassy bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, swaying, and emanating an odor of an alcoholic beverage from his mouth. When asked what happened, Coogan said that his nephew had been driving and hit an icy patch on the road, losing control and hitting a pole. 

Deputy Elmore asked Coogan where his nephew was, to which Coogan replied that he had walked back to the house on Valenti Road. Deputy Elmore also asked what Coogan's nephew's name was, to which Coogan said he was not going to throw his nephew under the bus. Coogan refused to be evaluated with EMS responders.  Coogan refused to do standardized field sobriety testing and refused a chemical test. After reviewing Coogan's DWI warnings three times, Deputy Elmore completed a refusal for him. Richard was turned over to the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office to be fingerprinted and transported to the Delaware County Correctional Facility.

District Attorney Smith commended the Deputy Elmore and New York State Trooper James Vlahakis for their work on the case. “Deputy Elmore works tirelessly to remove impaired drivers from our roads, and we appreciate all he does.” Smith also stated “ We will continue to partner with law enforcement to ensure that no one drives drunk in Delaware County.”

Shawn J. Smith

District Attorney

Delaware County