Hartwick Students Steal Car; Flee By Jumping in Susquehanna

The Oneonta Police Department assisted the New York State Police around midnight last night when a report was received of two individuals fleeing from a motor vehicle and jumping into the Susquehanna River in the general area of Hannaford Food Store on St Hwy 23.

While assisting the troopers, Oneonta PD received a report of a vehicle having been stolen from the municipal parking garage on Market Street. This vehicle matched the description of the vehicle from which the subjects had fled before jumping into the river. Shortly thereafter someone reported two friends as missing. The surveillance system in the municipal parking garage seemed to show the two individuals who stole the car then jumped in the river were the same as the two reported missing.

As the investigation continued, two individuals were identified, arrested and charged. They are: Ryan A. Van Allen-Cichielo, 22, of Cape Coral, Florida; and Eric J. Moore, 21, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Both were charged with grand larceny in the 4th degree, a felony carrying a maximum sentence of four years imprisonment.

According to police, the two men, who are Hartwick College students, admitted to jumping into the river to avoid the troopers. The students apparently explained that after finding a set of car keys in the road, they located the vehicle and took it without the owner’s permission.

Van Allen-Cichielo is believed to have swum across the Susquehanna River before making his way back to campus; Moore exited the Susquehanna River by the Home Depot and avoided detection until this morning. Neither reported any injuries or requested medical treatment.

Both were arraigned in the City of Oneonta Court and remanded to the Otsego County Correctional Facility to appear at a later date.