Two of the four men arrested last Tuesday on charges of shooting out nearly 80 car windows with a BB gun throughout the northern part of Schoharie County are due back in court today, Wednesday.
Police arrested three men from Carlisle and another from Sharon on charges of third-degree criminal mischief, a felony.
Most of the shootings were concentrated in Carlisle, Sharon and Esperance but there were also incidents in Central Bridge and Montgomery County.
The Loudonville State Police said Cobleskill troopers developed information in a two-month investigation that led them to an Evergreen Avenue address in Carlisle on Tuesday evening at which two men were arrested.
Later that evening, troopers located two additional men along with the vehicle used in the shootings, police said.
On Monday, Cobleskill State Police Sergeant Alan Woodin said four guns were seized.
Arrested were: Thomas J. Mercer, 18, of Evergreen Avenue, Carlisle; Michael A. Kissinger, 20, of Evergreen Avenue, Carlisle; Robert Manchester, 20, Route 20, Carlisle; and Derrick Young, 21, of Route 10, Sharon, according to police.
Mr. Manchester and Mr. Young were arraigned in the Town of Cobleskill court and sent to jail in lieu of $10,000 cash bail or $20,000 bond, police said. Mr. Mercer and Mr. Kissinger were issued appearance tickets to return to court on January 18 in the Town of Esperance.
State Police in Cobleskill and Fonda, along with members of the Schoharie and Montgomery County Sheriff's offices interviewed several people over the last two months.
The interviews led to the four men, police said.
"They were all tied up together," said Schoharie County Sheriff Tony Desmond.
Police also checked into stores where weapons can be bought, said Sheriff Desmond.
Sergeant Woodin said police investigated surveillance tape in November showing four men buying a BB gun, BBs and CO2 cartridges at Wal-Mart.
Both the State Police and Sheriff's office put extra patrols in the target areas since a rash of shootings the first week of the month, the Sheriff said.
There seems to be no specific reason for the shootings, he said.
"They were riding up all over the back roads," Sheriff Desmond said.
It seems to be "just some random acts of hell-raising," he said.
"It caused a lot of people a lot of trouble," he added.
Sergeant Woodin said some people said they heard a pickup with a loud muffler in the areas of the shootings. Other reported seeing a pickup with a different color tailgate.
A police pursuit earlier this month and talk among kids led to other leads.
"It was a lot of man hours and a little luck," Sergeant Woodin said of the investigation.
The shootings began on November and escalated in January.
Troopers in Cobleskill received seven complaints on November 20 in Esperance, Central Bridge and Carlisle. On January 6 they received 14 complaints in Carlisle, Sharon Springs and Esperance.
In all, Cobleskill troopers investigated 43 complaints, Fonda Troopers had three complaints, and the Sheriff's offices in Montgomery and Schoharie counties each had 16.
The Schoharie County Sheriff's office assisted the State Police with road patrols and in developing information during the investigation.
Schoharie County District Attorney James Sacket is assisting the State Police and the Sheriff's office in the investigation.
The investigation turned up an additional arrest, police said.
During the investigation, Troopers interviewed a man who was wanted on charges of criminal mischief in the Town of Rotterdam.
State Police arrested Ryan D. Kaufmann, 27, of Route 145 in Carlisle and turned him over to the Rotterdam Police Department.
Mr. Kaufmann, who was not involved in the recent shootings, was taken to county jail.