Convicted murderer gets more time for having weapons in prison

A Columbia County inmate already in prison for murder is facing more time for possessing two guns in the prison.

Jose Dugger, 44, is serving 20 years to life at Hudson Correctional Facility for a second-degree murder conviction out of Dutchess County. He was arrested in February for a September 2023 incident in which he allegedly had a homemade ice pick-type weapon – or shank – and a makeshift weapon consisting of a weighted object being placed inside a cloth, according to the Columbia County District Attorney’s Office. 

Corrections officers found the weighted cloth in his cell and the shank when he was transferred to another unit within the facility, according to prosecutors.

Dugger pleaded guilty in May to one count of knowingly attempting to make/possess dangerous contraband in prison, the DA said. 

Dugger was sentenced on Monday to another 1 ½ to 3 years in prison.