Defendant Shot Two Teenagers on a Port Jervis Street Corner

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler, on Thursday, April 15, 2021, announced the guilty plea in Orange County Court of Mario Mateos, age 22, of Middletown, in connection with a September 21, 2020, Port Jervis shooting incident. Mateos pled guilty to one count of Assault in the First Degree and one count of Attempted Assault in the First Degree. Mateos faces up to thirteen years in prison and five years of post-release supervision when he is sentenced on June 21, 2021, before Orange County Court Judge Hyun Chin Kim.

On September 21, 2020, Port Jervis police officers responded to the intersection of Barcelow Street and Seward Avenue in Port Jervis for a report of shots fired and victims suffering from gunshot wounds. On their arrival, officers learned that two sixteen-year-old boys were shot and wounded at that intersection. One victim suffered a serious gunshot wound to the lower back, requiring emergency surgery at Bon Secours Hospital. The other suffered a gunshot wound to the arm. An investigation conducted by members of the Port Jervis Police Department, with the assistance of the New York State Police, the Town of Deerpark Police, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, and the Hudson Valley Crime Analysis Center, resulted in Mateos’s arrest. A search warrant later executed at Mateos’s residence recovered a firearm from inside the residence.

District Attorney Hoovler thanked the Port Jervis Police Department, the New York State Police, the Town of Deerpark Police, and the Hudson Valley Crime Analysis Center for their assistance in the investigation and the prosecution of the case.

“Senseless violence on our streets adversely affects our communities,” said District Attorney Hoovler, “and those who commit acts of gun violence, especially, must be held accountable for their actions. As a result of this plea, the defendant will receive some measure of the punishment that he deserves, the victims will receive some measure of justice for their victimization, and the public will know that violent actions will not be tolerated.”

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Ryan Greenbaum.

A criminal charge is merely an allegation 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.