Man arrested after attacking cars with machete at Glens Falls Hospital

GLENS FALLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) - On Thursday, Glens Falls Police arrested a New Jersey man who was found damaging vehicles in a hospital parking lot with a machete. The case began earlier that day, with a report of unsafe operation of a vehicle on the Northway, later tied to a hit-and-run crash.

William Palangi, 53, of Northvale, New Jersey, was arrested on Thursday afternoon following a series of incidents that began near the Exit 18 Route 87 rest area northbound toward Glens Falls. A driver called in a report of erratic driving, and police soon found that the vehicle in question, a Jeep Wrangler, had been involved in a prior hit-and-run crash elsewhere in Warren County.

Police located Palangi in the parking lot of Glens Falls Hospital, where he had been seen damaging parked vehicles with a machete. Upon the arrival of police, Palangi fled in his vehicle, headed east towards Centennial Circle, but was stopped by police on Hudson Avenue, still in front of Glens Falls Hospital. Palangi was taken in by police without any further incident, and the machete was found in the passenger seat of his vehicle.

Palangi was charged with 3rd-degree criminal mischief, a class E felony; 4th-degree criminal weapon possession, a misdemeanor; and 2nd-degree menacing, also a misdemeanor. He was arraigned and remanded to Warren County Jail due to lack of bail. He will be held at the county jail pending court proceedings.