District Attorney Hoovler Announces Guilty Pleas in Gun Case
Newburgh Man Pleads Guilty to Two Counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree for Possessing aHandgun on Two Different Dates in the City of Newburgh
District Attorney’s Office to Recommend 18 Year Prison Sentence
Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that on Friday, April 12, 2024, Christian Brown, 24, of Newburgh, pled guilty in Orange County Court to two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree. The pleas were entered in connection with Brown having possessed a handgun on two different dates in the City of Newburgh. Under the plea agreement announced on the record at the time that Brown pled guilty, the District Attorney’s Office will recommend that he be sentenced to a total of eighteen (18) years in prison and five (5) years post-release supervision when he is sentenced on July 12, 2024.
At the time that Brown pleaded guilty he admitted that on July 6, 2023, he possessed a loaded handgun on Broadway in the City of Newburgh, which he discharged at another person, who was not injured. Brown also admitted that on October 21, 2023, he possessed a loaded pistol while outside the Lake Street Apartments in the City of Newburgh. Police officers from the City of Newburgh Police Officers recovered a loaded 9 mm pistol from Brown when they arrested him on October 21, 2023. Testing of the expelled shell-casings showed that the gun which Brown fired on July 6, 2023, was not the same gun he was carrying on October 21, 2023. Under the plea agreement, the District Attorney’s Office will recommend that Brown be sentenced to ten (10) years in prison and five (5) years post-release supervision for the illegal weapon possession occurring on July 6, 2023, and a consecutive sentence of eight (8) years in prison and five (5) years post-release supervision for the illegal weapon possession on October 21, 2023, for a total recommendation of eighteen (18) years in prison and five (5) years post-release supervision.
District Attorney Hoovler thanked the City of Newburgh Police Department for their investigation and the arrest of Brown.
“Removing illegally possessed handguns, and those who recklessly use them on our cities’ streets remains a majorpriority,” said District Attorney David M. Hoovler. “While I fully support the right of law-abiding citizens to legally obtain firearms, those who illegally possess pistols, and particularly those who use those weapons on others will face severe consequences in Orange County. Those who live, work, and visit our cities have the right to do so free of the wanton violence that invariably stems from illegally possessed handguns.”
The case is being prosecuted by Executive Assistant District Attorney Leah Canton.
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.