Russell Knight Pled Guilty to Narcotics and Conspiracy Charges

The People Will Recommend a 5-10 Year Prison Sentence

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that Russell Knight, age 46, of Newburgh, pled guilty in Orange County Court to Conspiracy in the Second Degree and Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree.  Under the plea agreement announced on the record at the time that Knight pled guilty, the People will recommend that he be sentenced to an aggregate sentence of five (5) to ten (10) years in prison, to be followed by three (3) years of post-release supervision when he is scheduled for sentence on March 3, 2025.

The case was the result of the coordinated efforts of numerous law enforcement agencies who conducted an enforcement action after a long-term investigation into firearm and narcotics trafficking in Orange County.  The operation, code named “Hot Lunch”, resulted in the arrests of twenty-six (26) people charged with narcotics, firearm and conspiracy offenses.

A six (6) month long intensive investigation into illegal firearms and narcotics trafficking in Orange County was conducted by the Orange County Drug Task Force (OCDTF), the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, together with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, the City of Middletown Police Department, New York State Police, the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department, and the Hudson Valley Crime Analysis Center.  As alleged in documents filed and statements made in court, the investigation revealed that Kirkland Salmon was at the center of four different conspiracies to traffic narcotics and firearms through Orange County. Salmon was supplied with quantities of cocaine by two different narcotics suppliers, Owen Beckford a/k/a Marvin Ottley and Joshua Arnold, to distribute from his food truck parked in the City of Newburgh. Salmon was also supplied with firearms to resell in Orange County by Andre Smith.  Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement learned of Beckford’s and Arnold’s narcotics distribution organizations, both of which distributed cocaine in the City of Newburgh and elsewhere in Orange County.  During the investigation, law enforcement recovered twenty-four (24) firearms and one (1) kilogram of cocaine.  On the day of the enforcement action on May 21, 2024, police additionally recovered over eleven (11) kilograms of cocaine, approximately ninety (90) grams of fentanyl, seven (7) guns, high-capacity magazines, numerous rounds of ammunition, approximately $45,000 of US currency, scales and packaging materials used in narcotics trafficking and ten (10) vehicles that were instrumentalities of the crimes charged.  Additionally, law enforcement seized one food truck.

At the plea proceedings, Knight admitted to participating in Beckford’s conspiracy to distribute narcotics, as well as selling cocaine to another individual.

District Attorney Hoovler thanked the agencies involved in the investigation, as well as the following agencies who assisted in the enforcement action on May 21, 2024: City of Newburgh Police Department; Town of Newburgh Police Department; Town of Woodbury Police Department; Town of Montgomery Police Department; Town of Wallkill Police Department; and the Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson Police Department.

“To disrupt high-level narcotics distribution networks, law enforcement must conduct intensive and dedicated investigations,” said District Attorney David M. Hoovler. “These investigations are possible only through coordinated operations between law enforcement and prosecutors.  My Office, time and again, has reaffirmed our commitment to keeping our streets safe from the scourge of drugs and the corresponding violence often found in the wake.  Together with our law enforcement partners, we will utilize every resource available to seek out drug and gun dealers and bring them to justice.”

The cases are being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Alexis Gregory and Assistant District Attorney Amanda M. Bettinelli.

A criminal charge is merely an allegation by the police that a defendant has committed a violation of the criminal law, and it is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the State of New York’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.