District Attorney Hoovler Announces Guilty Plea in
Port Jervis Shooting Case
Defendant Admits to Possessing Illegal, Unlicensed Firearm and Shooting at a Home
Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that on Monday, April 11, 2022, Christopher Sicina, 22, of Port Jervis, pled guilty in Orange County Court to one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree and one count of Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree. Under the plea agreement announced on the record at the time that Sicina pled guilty, the District Attorney’s Office will recommend that he serve eight years in state prison and five years of post-release supervision when he is sentenced on May 16, 2022.
On November 3, 2021 at approximately 10:30 pm, officers from the Port Jervis Police Department responded to shots fired in the vicinity of Hammond Street. Their investigation revealed that multiple gun shots were discharged into a residence on Hammond Street, narrowly missing occupants inside. Through the investigation, the police developed Sicina as a suspect and learned that hours prior to the shooting, several residents of the house that was targeted by Sicina had physically assaulted him. It is believed that the shooting was retaliation for the earlier assault. When police attempted to take Sicina into custody, he fled from the authorities before he was ultimately arrested. At the time of his plea, Sicina admitted to possessing an illegal, unlicensed and loaded firearm and recklessly engaging in conduct which created a grave risk of death to another person by discharging the firearm in the direction of people inside the home.
District Attorney Hoovler thanked the City of Port Jervis Police Department for their investigation and the arrest of Sicina.
“Gun violence in the streets of our communities endangers us all and will not be tolerated,” said District Attorney Hoovler. “Thankfully, no one was injured by this defendant’s criminal actions. However, vigilantism is never an appropriate means of resolving disputes. I thank the Port Jervis Police for their diligent investigation and helping to make for a safer City.”
The case is prosecuted by Chief Trial Assistant District Attorney Richard Moran.
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.