KINGSTON >> An Accord man has pleaded guilty to an August 2014 robbery in Wawarsing during which a female was shot in the back, the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday.
Ryan Z. Noval, 27, of 5140 U.S. Route 209, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Ulster County Court.
The Aug. 27 shooting and attempted robbery followed a planned heroin transaction, the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office said at the time.
Noval and his girlfriend, Nicole Halter, were arrested after authorities received a 911 call reporting a woman had suffered a gunshot wound. When deputies found the woman, she told them she had been shot by Noval as she fled from him after he robbed her.
Noval allegedly fired one round from a shotgun at close range through the rear passenger-side window of the victim’s vehicle as she drove away.
In August, the Sheriff’s Office said detectives concluded that “Noval and two other persons had met with the victim on Port Ben Road in the town of Wawarsing to conduct a heroin transaction” and that “Noval attempted to rob the victim during the transaction and subsequently shot her with a shotgun.”
Noval initially was charged with assault and attempted robbery, both felonies.
Halter, 30, of Accord, was charged with assault, attempted robbery, conspiracy, criminal use of a firearm, reckless endangerment and tampering with physical evidence, all felonies; and attempted grand larceny, coercion, reckless endangerment of property, menacing and endangering the welfare of a child, misdemeanors.
Edward L. Scriber, 34, of Ulster, who allegedly supplied the shotgun, was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and criminal facilitation. Authorities have said Scriber was not present when the shooting occurred.
The victim, who was not identified, was struck in the back but was able to drive from the scene and report the incident, authorities said. She first was taken to Ellenville Regional Hospital and then to Westchester Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, deputies said at the time.
Noval and Halter were found a short time later in a residence where Noval had barricaded himself. After a brief standoff, Noval surrendered to authorities without incident.
Noval’s sentencing is scheduled April 28 in Ulster County Court.
