Pair of felonies in DWI, burglary: 19 year old charged in incidents hours apart

A local man faces two felonies after he was accused of breaking into a church and its parsonage Dec. 4 just hours after being arrested for driving while intoxicated.  

Whitehall Police charged Christopher D. Carpenter, 19, with felony counts of second and third degree burglary saying he broke a basement window some time aftermidnightatGraceBaptistChurchonQueen Streetand stole a laptop computer. 

Carpenter had been arrested just hours prior for driving while intoxicated following a motor vehicle accident, also on Queen Street.

Police questioned whether Carpenter was involved in the burglary because of the church’s proximity to the DWI arrest site and the location of his residence. Carpenter was small enough to fit through the window, police said.

Witnesses also claimed to have seen Carpenter in the area of the church shortly before the burglary, police said.

Carpenter was questioned the morning of Dec. 4 after police were notified of a burglary at the church the previous night and during their discussion with Carpenter, officers located the laptop computer reported as missing from the church. No other items were reported missing. Carpenter also faces charges of criminal mischief and petit larceny in connection to the break in.

He was arraigned in village court and remanded to Washington County Correctional Facility.

Carpenter had been arrested at 10:57 p.m. on Dec. 3 following a motor vehicle accident in which he struck a vehicle onQueen Street.

Following the accident, Carpenter attempted to flee, but was caught. During the investigation of the accident, police had reason to believe Carpenter was intoxicated and he was asked to provide a breath sample. The breathalyzer indicated he had aBACof .11, over the .08 threshold for driving while intoxicated.

In additional to DWI, Carpenter was charged with misdemeanor driving a vehicle without insurance and was issued a number of traffic tickets including unsafe backing, operating a motor vehicle without proper inspection, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, and improper plates on a motor vehicle.

After the arrest for DWI Carpenter was released to his girlfriend Shaelynne Gordon who was arrested last week amid allegations she tattooed two girls, ages 12 and 13.

The girls went to the nurse’s office atWhitehallHigh Schoolbecause of scabs they received from the tattoos and Gordon was subsequently arrested and charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. No additional charges have been filed.

Both girls were unharmed, but it’s unknown if Gordon took measures to ensure the needles used to create the tattoos were sanitized.

It is illegal inNew YorkStatefor any person to give any child under the age of 18 a tattoo, regardless of parental consent, police said.