On the early afternoon of June 18, 2024, Saratoga Springs Police Department Sergeant Adam Dingmon executed a vehicle and traffic law stop of a minivan in the Geyser Crest neighborhood of Saratoga Springs. Sergeant Dingmon observed the operator of this vehicle to be on a cell phone and drove through a stop sign almost striking his marked Saratoga Springs Police Department vehicle. Sergeant Dingmon stopped the vehicle and came into contact with the female operator of the vehicle, who was unable to produce a valid New York State Driver’s License or registration for the vehicle and provided Sergeant Dingmon with a false name and birthdate. When confronted with this information and asked to exit the vehicle, the operator instead put her vehicle into drive and pulled away quickly, dragging Sergeant Dingmon along the roadway and slamming him to the ground. As Sergeant Dingmon lay broken and bleeding in the roadway the vehicle sped off without stopping. Members of the Saratoga Springs Police Department as well as the Saratoga Springs Fire Department immediately responded to the scene and began providing aid to Sergeant Dingmon. Sergeant Dingmon was transported to Albany Medical Center to receive treatment for his injuries.
The operator of the vehicle was shortly identified as one Theresa Travis (d.o.b. 05/29/1980), who the previous year had absconded from sentencing in the Saratoga County Court for felony Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs as well as the Schenectady County Court for felony Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs and who had been evading both warrants ever since. The Saratoga Springs Police Department, in collaboration with other local law enforcement agencies including the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Department, the Warren County Sheriff’s Department and the New York State Police then commenced a massive search for Travis, who was ultimately located hiding in a crawlspace under the home of a relative in Warrensburg, New York and returned to Saratoga Springs and charged with the felony offense of Assault in the Second Degree (NYS Penal Law Section 120.05(3)) for intentionally causing physical injury to a police officer as well as a multitude of related penal law and vehicle and traffic law charges. Travis was remanded to the Saratoga County Correctional Facility on these charges.
Thereafter, on October 9, 2024, Defendant Travis appeared in the Saratoga County Court and pled guilty to Assault in the Second Degree (NYS PL Section 120.05(3)) as a Class “D Violent” Felony for intentionally causing physical injury to a Sergeant Dingmon on June 18, 2024. In exchange for her plea, Travis agreed to accept a sentence of a determinate term of incarceration in a New York State Correctional Facility of five (5) years and with 1 ½-3 years of post-release supervision. Travis likewise agreed to a heightened sentence on her felony Driving While Ability by Drugs conviction of an indeterminate sentence of 1-3 years in a New York State Correctional Facility. Sentencing on these convictions was then set for December 17, 2024.
At sentencing on December 17, 2024, Sergeant Dingmon delivered a powerful victim impact statement and let the Court know the significant personal and professional impact Travis’ unlawful actions had upon his life and his family. Surrounded and supported by law enforcement colleagues, Sergeant Dingmon spoke of the life changing consequences that he would have to endure as a result of Defendant Travis’ conduct, conduct that “should never have happened” as Travis should have already been incarcerated for her pending felony drugged driving offense, but evaded sentence and being held responsible for her conduct.
Defendant Travis’ lack of responsibility for her actions was the central theme of both the probation department’s pre-sentence report as well as the sentencing remarks on behalf of the People. The Probation Department noted that Travis’ actions on June 18, 2024, evinced a “not only a reckless disregard for public safety but also a disturbing lack of remorse for the harm caused to Sergeant Adam Dingmon.” In rendering sentence, Judge James A. Murphy, III likewise admonished Defendant Travis for her actions, noting that while her time in state prison will at some point come to an end, the harm that she caused to Sergeant Dingmon will go on for much longer. Sentence was then imposed, with Travis receiving a determinate term of incarceration in a New York State Correctional Facility of five (5) years and with the maximum term of 3 years of post-release supervision for her Assault 2nd conviction, as well as an indeterminate sentence of 1-3 years in a New York State Correctional Facility for her Driving While Ability by Drugs conviction. Both sentences of incarceration were to be run concurrently with one another.
Saratoga County District Attorney Karen Heggen commended Sergeant Dingmon for the valor of his actions on June 18, 2024 and strength of character for his words at sentencing. “The difference between Sergeant Dingmon and Theresa Travis could not be made clearer; Sergeant Dingmon cared for others, especially his brother and sister officers who would be tasked with more work in his absence, and Travis cared only about herself.” D.A. Heggen commented that “Members of law enforcement are asked to place themselves in harm’s way every day to protect our community, and Defendant Travis’ sentence sends a clear message that those who would seek to cause harm to our brave men and women on the front lines of law enforcement will be significantly dealt with.” D.A. Heggen thanked the members of the Saratoga Springs Police Department, Warren County Sheriff’s Department, Saratoga County Sheriff’s Department and the New York State Police for their collaborative efforts at located Travis and bringing her to justice for the hurt she caused Sergeant Dingmon. The case was prosecuted by Vehicular Crimes Bureau Chief Matthew Coseo and Assistant District Attorney Kayla Potter, assisted by District Attorney’s Office Investigator Mark Sauter.