Over a year after an Old Stage Road family awoke to a crossbow bolt embedded in their living room wall, a bloodied axe on the floor of their home, a broken window and a torn screen on their porch, Johnnie Lancaster of the Town of Ulster, 25, was sentenced to 20 years in state prison and five years of post-release supervision after being found guilty of first-degree burglary and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
In the initial incident on Feb. 23, 2018, no one was injured and nothing was taken from the home in question. Five days afterward, a crossbow, bolts and a backpack were found in a wooded area near the home; investigators found a cell phone with a SIM card linked to Lancaster. Using the SIM card and DNA from blood found at the scene and on the crossbow, officers were able to link Lancaster to the crime and arrest him on March 1, 2018.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Gerard Van Loan. Lancaster represented himself at trial.
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