DA Hoovler Announces Guilty Plea in
Middletown Narcotics and Gun Case
Defendant Pled Guilty During Trial to Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree
Defendant to be Sentenced to Fifteen Years in State Prison as a
Repeat Violent Criminal Offender
Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that on Monday, February 14, 2022, Sequan Lewis, 32, of Monticello, pleaded guilty before Orange County Court Judge Craig Stephen Brown to one count of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree and one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree. Lewis had pled guilty during a felony jury trial that had commenced February 9, 2022. Under the plea agreement announced on the record at the time that Lewis pleaded guilty, he will be sentenced to a total of fifteen years in state prison when he is sentenced on March 25, 2022.
Prosecutors at the trial had argued that on September 4, 2020, police officers from the City of Middletown Police Department, the Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement and Narcotics Team “URGENT”, and the Department of Homeland Security Investigations, were conducting surveillance on a suspected narcotics dealer when they saw a car containing Sequan Lewis pull up to where the target of their investigation was parked. The police officers observed Lewis enter that person’s car and then return to the car he had arrived in. City of Middletown Police Officers and URGENT followed the car with Lewis in it, which eventually stopped in the City of Middletown. Police approached the car and recovered a loaded Smith and Wesson .22 caliber pistol. Lewis ran away, inadvertently leaving one of his shoes behind. Police arrested Lewis and recovered the shoe, which contained 6.5 grams of cocaine. At the time that he pleaded guilty, Lewis admitted possessing the loaded pistol as well as the narcotics, which he intended on selling.
The plea agreement placed on the record, noted that Lewis has two prior violent felony convictions and provides that he will be sentenced to fifteen years in state prison and three years post-release supervision for the crime of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, and a concurrent sentence of three and one-half to seven years in state prison on the charge of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree.
District Attorney Hoovler highly commended Assistant District Attorneys Tanja Beemer and Peter Fernandez, who prosecuted the case.
District Attorney Hoovler thanked the police officers of the City of Middletown Police Department, the Department of Homeland Security Investigations, and “URGENT” for their investigation and the arrest of Lewis.
“We have seen time and time again that illegal guns are invariably around those who deal in illegal narcotics,” said District Attorney Hoovler. “This defendant’s past violent behavior and narcotics and weapons possession render him a threat to the community. I hope that this fifteen year state prison sentence will deter others who might be tempted to follow this defendant’s example. Life is too precious to waste in state prison because you cannot stay away from guns and drugs.”
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.