Northern Lights Robbery [Update]

In case you haven't yet heard, the popular concert venue, Northern Lights, (located in North Country Commons on Route 146) where we host many local concerts, was robbed last Saturday, February 19. Over $35,000 was stolen, and one life lost.

The robbery took place just 24 hours after the Jagermeister Tour show, which was sold out. Two men broke into the venue, disabled the surveillance cameras, and stole every dollar that was in the large safe, and then proceeded to steal the safe itself, for whatever reason.

New newsconfirms the two men who committed the burglary are 22-year-old Shawn McCarthy and 21-year-old Nicoli Ninas- both of whom are from Rensselaer.

No motive for the crime is yet known, and might never be. However, McCarthy and Ninas will face severe punishment for their actions.

[The] suspects were arrested in Harrison and charged with receiving stolen property because they were allegedly found with more than $33,000 from the stolen safe.

McCarthy and Ninas were also charged with burglary. Both will be brought back to Saratoga County to face the charges. A third person, not named by the police, will be charged in Ulster County and charged with criminal possession of stolen property.

I do not know how long this will put the men away, if at all, because a lot of factors come into play, such as the state of New York, whether weapons were involved and if the criminals have prior charges against them. They could get sentenced to something as slight as probation, or, depending on their records, be put in jail for more than 20 years. Either way, some sort of justice will be served.

The investigation also led police to question one of Northern Lights' own employees- whose name I will keep anonymous for privacy reasons. He claimed to not have any connection with the robbery, but police think otherwise, as the man was found dead just two days after the robbery occurred. He had committed suicide.

So where is the safe? It was found in Poughkeepsie in the Hudson River, and was recovered by the Ulster County Diving Team. No details are yet known, and it is still unknown if there's any connection between the two involved locations, or if the two men just dumped the empty safe in the Hudson so it wasn't close to them.

I will update our listeners and fans on this story as much as possible. This most likely won't affect our relationship with Northern Lights and the business we share one bit, so don't worry. As long as these men are given what they deserve, that's all I care about.

Watch a short video of this story's news coverage here.