A 32-year-old Cuba, New York man was taken into custody around 10:35 p.m. on September 22 following a domestic dispute, and he now faces a felony charge that stems from a pattern of similar arrests dating back to 2019. Colby A. Smith was charged with third-degree assault, criminal obstruction of breathing, fourth-degree criminal mischief, second-degree unlawful imprisonment, second-degree menacing, and aggravated family offense, according to police.
A Newport Dispatch report says Smith resides in Cuba, New York, and was processed before being sent to Allegany County Jail. The criminal mischief charge against him involves allegedly disabling equipment to prevent an emergency call to police — conduct that, under New York Penal Law § 145.00, constitutes fourth-degree criminal mischief, a Class A misdemeanor.
The obstruction of breathing charge also carries specific statutory weight. Criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation under Penal Law § 121.11 applies when a person intentionally applies pressure to another's throat or neck, and it is classified as a Class A misdemeanor carrying up to one year in county jail, enacted under New York's 2010 Strangulation Prevention Act, per FindLaw.
Why a Misdemeanor Became a Felony
While most of the charges against Smith are misdemeanors, the aggravated family offense count is a felony — and that escalation traces back to his history with local law enforcement. Under New York Penal Law § 240.75, an aggravated family offense becomes a Class E felony when a defendant commits a qualifying misdemeanor and has a prior conviction for a specified family offense within the preceding five years, a window that excludes any time spent incarcerated, according to the NYS Senate Open Legislation record.
A conviction on that felony count carries up to four years in state prison or up to five years of felony probation, along with the loss of firearm rights, per McCabe, Coleman, Ventosa & Patterson PLLC. It's the kind of legal mechanism that converts what might otherwise be a routine misdemeanor case into a far more serious felony matter for repeat offenders.
A Documented History in Allegany County
Public records show this isn't Smith's first brush with domestic-related charges in the area. The Cuba Police Department previously arrested Smith, then 24, on April 16, 2019, following an alleged domestic dispute in the Village of Cuba, charging him with misdemeanor criminal obstruction of breathing, misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child, and second-degree harassment, according to the department's own Facebook post from that year.
Two years later, Bolivar Village Police charged Smith, then 27, with felony second-degree assault and criminal obstruction of breathing following an alleged October 6, 2021 incident in Bolivar, New York, with Smith issued an appearance ticket in that case, as reported by The Wellsville Sun. The current status or outcome of either the 2019 or 2021 cases has not been reported.
Mandatory Arrest Under State Law
Smith was officially booked into the Allegany County Jail in Belmont, New York, on September 26, four days after his arrest, according to jail records maintained by RecentlyBooked.com. The facility is operated by the Allegany County Sheriff's Office on State Route 19 S in Belmont, which serves as the county's primary detention hub for local police departments.
New York law leaves little room for discretion in cases like this one. Under Criminal Procedure Law § 140.10, officers generally must arrest when there is reasonable cause to believe a misdemeanor family offense occurred, unless the alleged victim requests otherwise, according to Colgan's firm. Arraignments on domestic violence charges in New York standardly involve the issuance of a temporary order of protection under Criminal Procedure Law § 530.12, which can mandate zero contact with the alleged victim, though it remains unknown whether such an order has been issued by the local town justice in Smith's case.
