Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler told The Epoch Times that his office’s top priority in 2023 is illegal handgun prosecution.
The number of illegal gun cases at the office saw a slight uptick in 2022 from the previous year, from 96 to 99, after having been on a downward trajectory in years, he said on Jan. 5.
Going forward, only district attorneys with at least eight years of prosecuting experience will be assigned to gun cases, and at their disposal are all technologies available at the office.
Such technologies include DNA analysis and fingerprint and facial recognition.
“I’m announcing these changes in order to enhance our prosecution of these cases, so we can drill down and focus on the select group of people that want to carry guns and use them in crimes,” Hoovler said.
The new changes are only a realignment of office resources and will not cost more money, he added.
Most illegal gun cases concentrate in the county’s three cities, Newburgh, Middletown, and Port Jervis, he said.
A small number were committed by New York City or out-of-state residents.
In 2022, the office prosecuted 99 defendants for criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, which is a violent felony offense and a serious charge for illegal gun possession.
Convicts can be punished by a minimum of three and half years and up to 15 years in prison.
In March 2022, Kaeshawn Kerr of Brooklyn was sentenced to 12 years for illegally possessing a handgun and a forged driver’s license in Goshen.
After the initial arrest, Kerr was out on bond and then failed to return to court. He was convicted without being in court for trial—a legal process called “in absentia”—in September 2011.
Months later, he was arrested by a member of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force.
Another notable case in the past year involves Corey Owens of Newburgh, who was sentenced in July to the maximum years allowed under the law—15 years—for illegally possessing a loaded 9 mm semiautomatic pistol.
Owens had criminal convictions prior to the gun case, including assault, animal fighting, and weapon possession.
A third case highlighted by Hoovler is the seven-year sentence for a New Jersey man named Louis Dessources for illegally carrying a loaded handgun while driving through the Town of New Windsor.
Cara is an Orange County, New York-based Epoch Times reporter. She can be reached at cara.ding@epochtimes.com
