Criminal mischief charge dismissed against Poughkeepsie activist Frankie Flowers; other charges remain
Flowers says the complainant was caught lying under oath, but the Dutchess County DA gives a different account of why prosecutors dropped the charge.
More Stories
A criminal mischief charge against longtime Poughkeepsie community activist Frankie Flowers — the brother of City of Poughkeepsie Mayor Yvonne Flowers — has been dismissed, but several domestic violence charges against him remain pending.
The fourth-degree criminal mischief charge stemmed from an alleged March 30 incident in the City of Poughkeepsie involving a television.
Flowers announced the dismissal on Facebook, writing that the complainant was “caught lying under oath” about what happened when he went to collect his belongings. Flowers also said prosecutors had “irrefutable evidence” and that “all charges and orders were dropped.”
The Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office, however, gave News 12 a different account of why the charge was dismissed.
District Attorney Anthony Parisi said recent sworn testimony by the complainant in a separate civil proceeding raised a significant question about whether the television Flowers was accused of damaging actually belonged to the complainant.
After Flowers’ defense attorney provided prosecutors with a transcript of that testimony, Parisi said his office determined it could no longer prove an essential element of the criminal mischief charge beyond a reasonable doubt and moved to dismiss it.
“Our obligation as prosecutors is to follow the facts and the law wherever they lead, regardless of who the defendant is or how much public attention a case may receive,” Parisi said.
Despite Flowers’ statement that “all charges” were dropped, the DA’s office confirms he continues to face second-degree strangulation, criminal obstruction of breathing, third-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child in a separate domestic violence case.
Flowers pleaded not guilty to those charges after a Dutchess County grand jury indicted him earlier this year. The strangulation charge is a felony.
Flowers also has a pending third-degree coercion charge, which the DA’s office clarified stems from a separate incident and case.
The cases have generated considerable public attention because of Flowers’ longtime role as a community activist and his relationship to the city’s mayor.
News 12 reached out to Flowers’ attorney for comment on the dismissal but has not heard back. Previous attempts by News 12 to contact Flowers directly have also gone unanswered.
Flowers has also faced domestic violence-related charges in Connecticut. He was arrested there in 2023 and later pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree criminal trespass.
