Bronx Man Charged in Knife-Point Threat, Beating in Pearl River

A Bronx man has been charged today with threatening people in downtown Pearl River at knifepoint and beating another man nearby in Pearl River, according to Orangetown Police.

William Schrader, 42, of the Bronx has been ordered held in the Rockland County Correctional Facility in New City after arraignment in Orangetown Town Court in Orangeburg on charges of second-degree menacing, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon with intent to use, third-degree assault and third-degree criminal mischief.

Police said Schrader was arrested about 1 a.m. today after an investigation of an incident in downtown Pearl River. Town officers on patrol were flagged down by people who said a man had stopped them on the street, asked them for a ride to New Jersey and pulled a knife on them when they refused to give him a ride.

The victims, police said, reported that Schrader threatened to stab them. However, they were able to flee without being injured.

Town officers checking the area found Schrader a short time later in the rear of 130 Route 304, where he was with another man who was bleeding from the head and face. That man, a 44-year-old New Jersey resident, told police that Schrader had just attacked him.

Police said the beating victim was taken by Nanuet Ambulance Corps to Nyack Hospital for treatment. Schrader was arrested in connection with the attack and police said their investigation revealed Schrader was the man who is accused of making the knife-point threats.

Schrader had a knife in a pocket when he was arrested, said police, who also noted that after his arrest Schrader kicked out a side rear window of an Orangetown police car.