A 24-year-old Brewster man was arrested twice within an 18-hour period this week in Putnam County, and federal officials say he is in the United States illegally with a long criminal record.
Diego Rodriguez-Ordonez was first taken into custody around 3:05 a.m. Wednesday after Putnam County Sheriff’s Deputies, assisting the Kent Police Department, found him hiding in a swampy area near a Kent gas station. He is accused of robbing the convenience store and assaulting a clerk who tried to stop him. He was charged by Kent Police with robbery, assault and felony criminal mischief, the latter tied to a separate incident at a nearby bank.
He was released from custody, only to be arrested again that evening. At about 9:09 p.m., Putnam County 911 dispatched deputies to the Southeast train station after a woman reported being touched by a man on a Metro-North train and then groped again on the platform.
Deputies found Rodriguez-Ordonez near the train yard. According to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department, he refused repeated commands and resisted arrest, leading officers to deploy a Taser. He was wearing an ankle monitor that had been issued to him earlier that same day. He was charged with forcible touching, obstructing, resisting arrest and criminal trespass, all misdemeanors.
He was arraigned in Southeast Justice Court, where bail was set at $10,000 cash or $20,000 bond.
DHS: Guatemalan national with prior deportation history
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Friday that Rodriguez-Ordonez is in the country illegally and has multiple prior convictions. A DHS spokesperson said Border Patrol first encountered him in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, on December 11, 2018, and that he was released from ICE custody in March 2021 under the Biden administration.
“On September 30, ICE lodged a detainer for Diego Dilan Rodriguez-Ordonez, a criminal illegal alien from Guatemala, whose lengthy rap sheet includes convictions for multiple sex offenses, trespassing, and disorderly conduct, and pending charges for sexual assault, possession of stolen property, assault, larceny, burglary, crimes against a person, dangerous drugs, fraud, and property crimes,” the DHS spokesperson said.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, if you break the law, you will face the consequences,” the spokesperson added. “Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the US.”
Local officials react
Putnam County Sheriff Brian Hess said the case raised questions about how someone with such an extensive record remained free.
“It’s definitely upsetting that he’s out here assaulting our citizens – arrested that same day within 24 hours of being released the day earlier – and looking at his history of 17 arrests in the last two years you wonder how this guy can still be out there hurting our people,” Hess told The Post.
Assemblyman Matt Slater, a Republican who represents Putnam County, said Rodriguez-Ordonez has been arrested 16 times since 2024 with eight criminal convictions, following a 2018 deportation.
“This highlights the exact problem with Albany’s failed sanctuary policies that protect criminals, create more victims and provide a safe haven for illegal immigration,” Slater said. “There is no excuse for this individual to be terrorizing our community. He should be held to the fullest extent of the law, including deportation.”
Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne said his county does not operate as a sanctuary jurisdiction.
“We respect the rule of law, support our law enforcement officers, and cooperate with our federal, state, and local partners to keep dangerous criminals off our streets,” Byrne said. “Sanctuary policies that block that cooperation undermine public safety. Public safety should come before politics.”
