District Attorney Hoovler Announces State Prison Sentence for
Inmate Who Assaulted Corrections Officer in Orange County Jail
Defendant Sentenced to Five Years in State Prison for Assaulting
Corrections Officer in the Orange County Jail
Defendant also given State Prison Sentences for Reckless Endangerment of Children on a School Bus and Destroying Hospital Property
Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that Wednesday, July 14, 2021, Anthony Wilmot-Francis, age 26, of New Windsor, was sentenced by Orange County Court Judge Craig Stephen Brown to five years in state prison in connection with having assaulted an Orange County corrections officer in the Orange County Jail. Wilmot-Francis was also sentenced to state prison on two other felony charges.
On September 27, 2019, Wilmot-Francis was arrested by the Town of Newburgh Police Department. The arrest was in connection with allegations that Wilmot-Francis had hit a car with a shopping cart and when the driver of that car called the police, that he illegally entered a car dealership, stole a car, and drove off almost hitting a school bus containing children before crashing into a telephone pole. On December 23, 2019, Wilmot-Francis pleaded guilty to Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree.
On January 27, 2020, Wilmot-Francis was arrested by the Town of Wallkill Police Department for Criminal Mischief in the Second Degree for having damaged walls, cameras, phones and alarms while he was being treated at Orange Regional Medical Center.
On March 11, 2020, while Wilmot-Francis was an inmate in the Orange County Jail, he assaulted an Orange County Sheriff’s Office corrections officer by striking the officer in the face multiple times and throwing chairs at the officer. On April 20, 2021, Wilmot-Francis pleaded guilty to Criminal Mischief in the Second Degree, in connection with the damaging of property at Orange Regional Medical Center, and Assault in the Second Degree for having assaulted the corrections officer.
On July 14, 2021, Wilmot-Francis was sentenced to five years in state prison and three years’ post-release supervision on the charge of Assault in the Second Degree. He was also sentenced to one to three years in state prison for Criminal Mischief, and two to six years in state prison for Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently.
District Attorney Hoovler thanked the Town of Newburgh Police, the Town of Wallkill Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office for their work on all the cases.
“This case underscores the dangerous and difficult job that we rely on our corrections officers to perform,” said District Attorney David Hoovler. “While outside of a correctional facility this defendant endangered others, including children and innocent motorists, and purposely destroyed property, even of those who were trying to help him. He became no less dangerous when he was incarcerated in the jail and savagely attacked an Orange County Sheriff’s Office corrections officer. Correction officers deserve our admiration, thanks and support. They generally work in settings where they are outnumbered by inmates and without weapons. They risk their lives and safety to protect us, each other, and the inmates in their care. Those who assault corrections officers deserve severely enhanced sentences.”
District Attorney Hoovler commended Assistant District Attorney Christine Maggiore who prosecuted the cases.