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READ TEXT OF JUDGE’S ORDER

Sheriff’s Son Ros

Threatened Suicide,

Court Order Reports

Sheriff Richard J. Devlin Jr. reports on jail matters at this morning’s meeting of the county Board’s Public Safety & Legal Affairs Committee. The committee then released a court order detailing the issues that led to the suspension of his son, Sgt. Ros Devlin, in January. (Jim Kevlin/AllOTSEGO.com)

Fellow Jail Guard Testifies She

Feared What Might Happen Next

By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

COOPERSTOWN – Sgt. Ros Devlin, angry at a supervisor, had threatened to “blow (his own) head off” in front of the supervisor’s desk, according to a court order denying him a pistol permit issued March 31 by County Judge Richard D. Northrup Jr. of Delhi.

The order was released a few minutes ago by county Rep. Ed Frazier, R-Unadilla, who said he was doing so on the advice of County Attorney Ellen Coccoma.  Frazier chairs the county board’s Public Safety & Legal Affairs Committee, which is investigating the case of Sergeant Devlin, the son of county Sheriff Richard J. Devlin Jr.

According to the order, the younger Devlin, between 9 and 10 a.m. Jan. 5, complained to Correctional Officer Catherine M. Hubbard about how her husband, First Sgt. Jared Hubbard, had reprimanded him for bringing a personal cell phone to work after telling him not to, and for parking a truck in an unauthorized space.

The younger Devlin “added that he would bring a duffle bag to work filled with guns and that he was going to walk in to the administration office and ‘blow my head off over First Sgt. Hubbard’s desk so that every time he blinked he can see my face explode’,” the order continues.

He then told Catherine Hubbard, according to the order, “that he could ‘shoot up’ the Oneonta Elementary School and the Milford School to create a diversion so that there would be no one to respond.”

Catherine Hubbard further said that, since it was her husband who had reprimanded the younger Devlin, and since the younger Devlin was her direct supervisor, “she feared him taking it out on her.”

In denying Ros Devlin’s application to have a pistol permit reinstated, Judge Northrup said Sergeant Devlin “has shown himself to be lacking the essential temperament or character which should be present in one entrusted with a pistol permit.”

Asked about the document, Sheriff Devlin, who was in the County Office Building to give his monthly report to the Public Safety Committee, said he understood that Judge Northrup has sealed his decision.  He said he was unaware that the process necessary to unseal the order had occurred.

The sheriff also said that three other correctional officers had been in the room with Ros Devlin and Catherine Hubbard, and none had heard him say what the order reports he said.

“I’m not hiding anything,” said the sheriff.  “But there’s a proper way to do things.  I don’t think the county is doing things the proper way.”

When Frazier’s committee was alerted to the allegations in January, it initiated an investigation into Ros Devlin and the departmental disciplinary procedures, suspended the sergeant from his job and banned him from county property.

Posted

17 Comments

  1. The part that confuses me is why he was suspended and banned from county property when the statement that was claimed to have been said by one person has been disputed by three other separate individuals with no direct bias for/against him….sounds like the person that reported the comment has a personal connection given their partner is his supervisor.

  2. Doesn’t sound like the ros devlin I know. He’s a great young man, and has always been very respectful. Looks like a bit of politics to me.

  3. I believe this shouldn’t have been hidden from the parents of Oneonta and Milford school district.

  4. Sgt delivin was nasty to me when I was in the jail and he deserve what happens to him he was a rude sgt and never liked to do his

  5. If she was in such fear for her life why did she wait 5 days to say anything and why was he asked to work a double shift that weekend if he was such a threat? Why are you not looking at that?

  6. I would question the truth in it if there were two others in the room and they didn’t hear this being said. The whole story Soulja far fetched.

  7. Soooo Happy they didn’t give him a pistol permit! Obvious mental status questions. Hope he gets the help he needs!

  8. If true I understand the decision made by Sheriff Devlin in this situation, as a father. As the head of our County’s Law Enforcement agency though I am astonished. If these statements are true Sgt Devlin has no place in law enforcement and is a liability to the county. If there is any question about the validity of them it appears a judge has already deemed them to be true. It is not surprising 3 other deputies didn’t hear it. There is a distinction between not hearing something and saying flat out it didn’t happen, Officer Hubbard had the courage to stand up and be forthcoming where as it appears 3 others took the recourse of not hearing it, that’s an easy way out.
    In regards to Mrs Clark and her involvement in this matter, your paper has more than once stated Mr. Abbate indicated he was approached about Clarks husband running for sheriff. Mrs Clark has not commented on this. You have not established any other supporting evidence yet continue to just run with it article after article. You seem to have even made that the headlines here until the truth of the matter came out in this article. Easily enough who were the 2 individuals who told Abbate and who mentioned it to them, either it leads back to Clark/Fernandez or it doesn’t, that would be investigative reporting on your part not just running articles solely based on hearsay from someone in an opposing political party. Your paper can do better, if you actually want to….

  9. My name is Leo Szymanski, I ha e been in OCJ before and I’ve wittnessed ROS’S temper tantrums. He would bring up his guns often a d things he wanted to use them on. I can tell you one thing, if not for his father and mother, he’d be unemployed. He’d pick on the weaker prisoners, the ones who were mentally ill, or not capable of protecting themselves. A few years back he broke a mentally retarded kids back, his name is Robert Lyons. I was there, I was a witness to it. Ros covered it up by promising Robert extra food and more time in the library! Robert (aka Bones) was taken to the hospital, but was told what to say, he fell off his bunk. Bros knows who to mess with he preys on the weak. We what happens when someone calls him out on his crap, he throws a fit. IM TELLING YOU HE DOES FIT THAT CATEGORY OF A SCHOOL SHOOTER. Investigate, investigate, investigate, he surly needs help. I can also tell you that Sgt. Hubbard and his wife do Their jobs, no nonsense, but they have a line, if crossed you will be held liable. They both have good hearts and understand that everyone incarcerated are not ALL bad some are there for addictions, some due to mental illness. AGAIN, I was incarcerated there, no secret there, and I thought Little Devlin would get away with his crap as long as his daddy is boss!

  10. If you read the article it states “none had heard him” in reference to the 3 officers. Does not say anything about disputing what was said. When you state you didn’t hear you then cannot dispute or affirm the allegations because you don’t know what was said, I can envision Sgt Schultz on Hogans heros saying it now…

  11. There are cameras and sound surveillance in every part of correctional facilities…. use them… case closed

  12. Seems to me like a lot if left out of the real story. How convenient that the wife makes a complaint on another Sergeant who has a disagreement with her husband…..People are crying nepotism with the sheriff/son situation but why is her husband supervising her? Does this mean she gets “special treatment” too?

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