A 24-year-old man who was arrested in Putnam County twice in an 18-hour span earlier this week is an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal history, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and local authorities.
Diego Rodriguez-Ordonez, of Brewster, New York, faces multiple charges after he allegedly robbed a Kent convenience store and assaulted a clerk trying to stop him early Wednesday – only to be released from custody and arrested again later that evening for allegedly forcibly touching a woman on a Metro-North train.
DHS confirmed Friday that Rodriguez-Ordonez was in the US illegally, had multiple prior convictions and was released into the country during 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,” a DHS spokesperson told The Post.
“On December 11, 2018, Border Patrol encountered him in Rio Grande Valley, Texas, and in March 2021, he was released from ICE custody by the Biden administration,” the spokesperson said. “Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, if you break the law, you will face the consequences.
“Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the US.”
Putnam County Sheriff Brian Hess found it troubling that Rodriguez-Ordonez was roaming the streets with his long rap sheet.
“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.
Rodriguez-Ordonez was first taken into custody at approximately 3:05 a.m., Wednesday. Putnam County Sheriff’s Deputies assisting the Kent Police Department found the suspect hiding in a swampy area near the gas station where the robbery and assault took place.
He was charged by the Kent Police Department with robbery and assault and felony criminal mischief in connection with a separate incident at a nearby bank.
At approximately 9:09 p.m., Putnam County 911 dispatched Sheriff’s Deputies to the Southeast train station after a woman reported being touched by a man aboard a train and later groped by the same individual on the platform.
Cops located Rodriguez-Ordonez near the train yard, where they deployed a Taser after he refused repeated commands and resisted arrest, according to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department. He was wearing an ankle monitor that was issued to him earlier that day.
Rodriguez-Ordonez was charged with forcible touching, obstructing, resisting arrest and criminal trespass – all misdemeanors – related to the second incident.
He was arraigned in Southeast Justice Court, where bail was set at $10,000 cash or $20,000 bond.
Assemblyman Matt Slater (R-Putnam) told The Post that the facts about Rodriguez-Ordonez “prove the flawed system we live under in New York.”
“Not only was this individual arrested twice in 18 hours, but he has been arrested 16 times since 2024 with eight criminal convictions. This after he was deported in 2018,” Slater fumed. “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.”
“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 was adamant that his county “is not a sanctuary county, and it never will be under my leadership.”
“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,” he argued.
“Public safety should come before politics. When someone repeatedly commits crimes and poses a threat to our communities, every level of law enforcement should be able to work together and use every lawful tool available.”
