Albany County officials injured after report of disturbance during brawl in Ravena

• 20 people surround the responding officers.

• Coeymans man and a young man charged over incident

RAVENA – A Coeymans man who was arrested in June for check fraud has been arrested again on several charges stemming from a disturbance that escalated into a riot in the Town of Coeymans on Saturday, Sept. 7.

According to reports, the Albany County Sheriff’s dispatch center received a report of an active disturbance on Main Street in the town of Coeymans at approximately 8:15 a.m. Upon arrival, officers noticed a man in the street who immediately became aggressive toward officers and showed signs of intoxication. Officers attempted to detain the man as part of the investigation, but the suspect, later identified as Thomas J. Mason Jr., 31, of Coeymans, became combative.

Police said a group of about 20 people surrounded officers to prevent the arrest. Several officers sustained injuries while arresting Mason and other juveniles were taken into custody for their involvement.

The deputies were assisted by state police, Coeymans police, Greene County Sheriff’s Office and Coxsackie police.

Mason and a male juvenile were charged with second-degree assault (a felony), obstruction of public order and resisting government authority (both misdemeanors).

Mason was arraigned in Coeymans Municipal Court and transported to the Albany County Correctional Facility, where he was held on $60,000 bail or $80,000 bond. Mason Jr. is scheduled to appear in Coeymans Municipal Court again on September 19.

The juvenile was issued a summons and is scheduled to appear before the Albany County Probation Department on September 18.

Fraud and other arrests for Mason

Mason was arrested by the Albany County Sheriff’s Office on June 13 and charged with third-degree possession of a forged document and third-degree grand larceny, both felonies, and second-degree possession of a forged document, a misdemeanor.

These charges stem from an incident on April 1 at the Pioneer Bank in Bethlehem.

Mason reportedly called the branch and demanded to cash a $20,000 check written by an insurance company. Employees told Mason that the check would have to be deposited and cleared before it could be cashed.

A short time later, he showed up at the branch with a check made out to him for $15,797.75 and Mason deposited it into his account.

Employees checked the bank the check came from and found it was cleared, but then contacted the company the check came from. The company said the amount was correct but not payable to Mason. The check was supposed to be made out to a vendor in Maryland.

The bank then froze Mason’s account and debit card.

On May 23, Bethlehem detectives requested a warrant for Mason’s arrest and received one on May 28.

Because of this incident, Mason was tried by Bethlehem City Judge Andrew Kirby and released under probation supervision.

Mason was also arrested by sheriff’s officers in February 2023 after allegedly hitting a victim in the back of the head with a Malibu rum bottle when his ex-girlfriend showed up with a group of people to pick up her belongings. At the time, he also had an outstanding warrant for his arrest for a domestic incident in November 2022.

At the time, he was charged with aggravated family offenses (a felony) and assault (a misdemeanor).

At that time, he was transferred to the Albany County Jail as a pretrial detainee.

John is the editor of Spotlight News. He is a journalist and photographer with 40 years of experience. He is a graduate of MCLA and Syracuse University.