On January 23, 2024, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Orange County Drug Task Force, and the City of Newburgh Police executed a search warrant in the City of Newburgh, leading to the arrests of two individuals involved in distributing dangerous narcotics. One defendant has been charged with criminal sale of controlled substances in the third degree and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, both class B felonies. The second defendant has also been charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree. Both defendants were arraigned and remanded to the Orange County Jail in lieu of bail.
Sheriff Arteta stated, “I commend both my staff and our Drug Task Force partners, who undertake the dangerous mission to rid our communities of poisonous drugs. These investigations are challenging, especially with the current criminal justice reforms, but they continue to perform this critical work with high professionalism.”
District Attorney David Hoovler added, “It’s a pleasure to collaborate with our law enforcement partners to remove dangerous narcotics traffickers from the streets of Orange County.”
A criminal charge is merely an allegation by the police that a defendant has violated the criminal law, and it is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which the State of New York must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
