District Attorney Hoovler Announces Guilty Verdict in City of Newburgh Drug Case

Defendant Convicted After Jury Trial of Sole Count Submitted to the Jury

Defendant Faces up to 4 Years in Prison

Defendant Has Two Prior Felony Drug Convictions

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that on Friday, August 11, 2023, Raiquan Falls, 27, of Newburgh, was convicted after a jury trial in the Orange CountyCourt of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Fifth Degree, the sole count of the indictment.  Falls faces a maximum sentence of four (4) years in prison when he is sentenced on October 2, 2023.  Falls was remanded to the Orange County Jail without bail following the jury’s verdict.

As alleged at trial, on August 2, 2022 Falls was arrested by members of the City of Newburgh Police Department on outstanding bench warrants.  After Falls was handcuffed and walked to the patrol car, he dropped a bag of cocaine he had in his hand, which was seen on police body-worn camera footage.  The police recovered the bag, which was submitted to the New York State Police Crime Laboratory for analysis.  There, it was determined that the bag contained in excess of 1,000 milligrams of cocaine.

District Attorney Hoovler thanked the City of Newburgh Police Department for their investigation and arrest of the defendant.

“Career drug dealers contribute to the tragic consequences of narcotics we see daily,” said District Attorney David. M. Hoovler.  “Previous incarceration has not yet deterred this defendant from his criminal actions.  I commend the thorough work of both the City of Newburgh Police and the prosecutor that ultimately led to the conviction in this case.  My Office will continue to prioritize narcotics prosecution to ebb the flow of dangerous drugs in our communities.”

District Attorney Hoovler highly commended Assistant District Attorney Tanja who prosecuted the case.

This 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 afair trial, during which it will be the State of New York’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.