District Attorney Hoovler Announces Four Additional Guilty Pleas By City of Port Jervis Drug Dealer

June 15, 2017

Drug Dealer Who had been Previously Sentenced to Thirteen Years in State Prison for Gun Possession, Pleads Guilty to Four Additional Drug Sales

Defendant Admits Selling Near Pre-K School in Port Jervis

District Attorney’s Office Will Be Seeking More Prison Time

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that on Thursday, June 15, 2017, Robert Burbridge, 46, of Port Jervis, pleaded guilty to four additional charges of narcotics sales, including one charge of selling on or near school grounds. On April 3, 2017, Burbridge had been sentenced by Orange County Court Judge Craig Stephen Brown to thirteen years in state prison, and five years post release supervision, in connection with his April 1, 2016, possession of a loaded .380 caliber semiautomatic pistol. On January 3, 2017, when Burbridge pleaded guilty to that charge, Burbridge admitted that he possessed the loaded pistol inside his Coleman Street residence in Port Jervis, and that he had previously been convicted of a crime.

On June 15, 2017, Burbridge, pleaded guilty to Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance Near School Grounds, and admitted that on February 17, 2017, he had sold cocaine near the Recap Headstart Pre-K school located in Port Jervis. Burbridge also pleaded guilty to three additional indictments charging him with Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, and admitted that he sold cocaine in Port Jervis on February 15, 2017, February 24, 2017, and February 28, 2017. Burbridge is scheduled to be sentenced on august 24, 2017. At the time Burbridge pleaded guilty, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office stated that it would be seeking state prison time in connection with these cases that would be in addition to the state prison time Burbridge is already serving.

The City of Port Jervis Police Department’s investigation was triggered by community complaints about Burbridge’s trafficking in narcotics.

District Attorney Hoovler thanked the City of Port Jervis Police Department for their investigation and the arrests in the cases.

All the cases against Burbridge are being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Matthew Healy.

“This defendant was selling narcotics for profit and simply refused to stop trafficking narcotics, even after he had pleaded guilty to a felony,” said District Attorney Hoovler. “The community will be safer during the years he is in state prison. I commend the City of Port Jervis Police Department for all the resources that they placed into these investigation, and for the way they coordinated their investigation with the District Attorney’s Office. Numerous community complaints attest to the harm that this defendant was doing to the entire community. This case is an example of how community policing and community prosecution can address community concerns.”

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.

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