Bethlehem Area Police Weekly Report, July 24: Albany man with drugs behind Delaware Plaza

Man had frequent contact with the police for over two years

DELMAR — An Albany man who has been arrested multiple times in the past for thefts from local stores and other incidents in the city was arrested again behind Delaware Plaza on Wednesday, July 17.

At approximately 9:22 a.m., Bethlehem police responded to the woods behind the plaza for a report of a man behaving irrationally. Upon arrival, officers found Joseph Barba, 42, of Albany, reportedly leaning against a shopping cart and unable to put on one of his boots.

Barba reportedly attempted to spit at officers when they spoke to him and was taken into custody. He was known to officers through multiple interactions with police over the past two years, most recently on May 3 when he was riding an electric bike down the middle of Delaware Avenue at 3 a.m., and also had warrants out for his arrest from the city of Albany.

This time, Barba was in possession of several bags of heroin with a total weight of 7.5 grams and a quantity of gabapentin. There was also another arrest warrant out for him from the city of Albany.

Barba was involved in several thefts from local stores in Bethlehem in February, September, January 2023 and January 2022. Each time, he was wanted by other authorities on outstanding warrants and was carrying drugs or paraphernalia.

Because of that incident, he was charged with illegal possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor, and was given a summons to appear in Bethlehem Town Court on Monday, August 5.

He was then taken to Albany South Station and handed over to officers at that station.

Bethlehem Police receive grant to upgrade radio console

DELMAR – Bethlehem Police are upgrading their aging communications equipment after receiving $746,642 from the state Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) Law Enforcement Technology (LETECH) grant program.

Police Chief Gina Cocchiara had asked the City Council for approval to accept the grant and enter into an agreement with Motorola Solutions. The agreement would include the purchase of new radio consoles for the department’s communications center valued at $560,000 under the terms of a contract with the state Office of General Services.

The city council approved the measure at its last meeting on Wednesday, July 10.

The current radio consoles used by telecommunicators to coordinate with various police, fire, EMS and local government agencies were installed more than 10 years ago and are now outdated. With the implementation of Albany County Project 25 Phase II’s 800 MHz digital radio cores, the aging hardware has reached the end of its life and limited spare parts and support are available.

The department applied for this funding in November 2023 to replace outdated law enforcement technology. The grant was confirmed in May 2024 for the state’s 2024-25 fiscal year.

Cocchiara said the modernization aims to modernize operations and improve crime detection and prevention capabilities.

The remaining funds will be used for future upgrades, including mapping and data management software and critical departmental hardware.