Kingston, NY—On Thursday, January 25, 2024, Niaki Dial, age 20, of Kingston, was sentenced by the Honorable Bryan Rounds to eight years’ state prison followed by five years’ post-release supervision stemming from his September 18, 2023 guilty plea to Burglary in the Second Degree. He was additionally sentenced to a concurrent term of two and one-third to seven years in prison stemming from his guilty plea to Promoting Prison Contraband in the First Degree. 

Dial was initially indicted by an Ulster County Grand Jury for forcing his way into a residence on March 9, 2023 and forcibly stealing a victim's purse while threatening to shoot her with a gun. While that charge was pending and Dial was incarcerated at the Ulster County Jail, Dial was found in possession of a weapon-type shank and stated to a corrections officer "I will stab you in your fucking neck!" on May 30, 2023. 

Dial's guilty pleas covered numerous pending criminal charges, including his stabbing another incarcerated individual in the neck with a pen while at the Ulster County Jail, and throwing urine on an Ulster County Corrections Officer. Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Paul Derohannesian said, “Our Office will continue to hold those who commit violence in our community and at the Ulster County Jail to ensure safety for all.”

The sentencing was handled by Deputy Chief ADA Derohannesian. The defendant was represented by Assistant Ulster County Public Defender Timothy Lawson.