Roxbury man arrested for threatening to kill wife and daughter, police say

A Roxbury man who has a history of threatening police and members of Delaware County's Department of Social Services was arrested again on Wednesday, Sept. 23 for allegedly threatening to kill his wife and 14-year-old daughter with a rifle, according to the New York State Police.

Forty-nine-year-old Foster C. Borfitz Jr. was arrested yesterday after a 911 call brought police to a house on Route 30 in the Delaware County town of Roxbury, according to the press release.

Left: Foster C. Borfitz Jr. Photo via the New York State Police. 

Borfitz's family told the police that Borfitz has threatened to kill them, according to the press release:

Upon arriving they were told that Borfitz had been in an argument with his wife and 14-year-old daughter, when he grabbed his rifle and threatened to kill both of them with it. Troopers found him hiding outside nearby without the rifle.

Borfitz's wife, Violet Borfitz, disputes this version of events. She says that the gun, a rifle belonging to Borfitz's son, was in its case during the argument, and that Borfitz removed it from the house.

"Nobody ever saw the gun," she said. 

Borfitz has been arrested in the past on similar charges. In 2011, he was arrested after a domestic dispute and charged with menacing, criminal mischief and resisting arrest, according to the Mountain Eagle.

He was then convicted of "making a terroristic threat"--a felony--after he threatened county DSS staff and police in the aftermath of the arrest, according to a press release from the Delaware County Sheriff's Office and parole records.

Because he has a prior conviction, Borfitz is not allowed to possess a weapon.

Yesterday, according to the police, Borfitz gave his rifle to a neighbor before troopers arrived at the house. The rifle was located after an investigation, police say.

Borfitz was arraigned in the town of Roxbury court and was released without being required to pay bail, police say. 

Update, Sept. 25, 2015: Borfitz's wife, Violet Borfitz, disputes the police account of the arrest, saying that Borfitz did not threaten her or her daughter with the gun. The police stand by their version of events. We've added Violet Borfitz's statement to this story.