During the past three years, the City of Middletown under Mayor Joseph DeStefano enacted several codes to ramp up local prosecutions of low-level offenses. Among them, an amended fireworks law and a new quality-of-life code took offenses traditionally in the domain of the county district attorney’s office into the hands of city prosecutors. Swift fines are…

As summer approaches, Orange County law enforcement and emergency services officials reminded residents to enjoy the outdoors responsibly.  At a May 24 press conference in Port Jervis, officials offered safety tips on activities such as fireworks, swimming, boating, hiking, and party celebrations.  “It is the human element that we are here to talk about—the good decision-making…

A new task force targeting public corruption and financial crimes in Orange County, New York, was formed by Sheriff Paul Arteta and district attorney David Hoovler on March 1.   Hoovler told The Epoch Times that one catalyst for the task force is residential contractor fraud, which is expected to go up as building season…

Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler told The Epoch Times that the bail set on a recent shooting suspect was woefully low and could have endangered public safety.  The suspect, 21-year-old John DiCaprio, was able to post bail and then failed twice to appear in court before eventually turning himself in on Jan 16. On…

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 the first day of the new year, Paul Arteta took oath as Orange County’s new sheriff and promised to build on the past to make the county a safer and better place. “We’ve done incredible things at the Sheriff’s Office, and it’s just going to get better and better in the future,” he said…

A grand jury in Orange County, New York, indicted Gionni Sellers with second-degree murder just two days before Christmas for allegedly causing the death of a three-year-old boy. The indictment was announced by Town of Wallkill Police Chief Robert Hertman and County District Attorney David Hoovler at a Dec. 27 press conference. Town of Wallkill…

The Port Jervis Police Department’s increasing involvement in the Orange County Drug Task Force has enabled the city to comprehensively target drug trafficking networks, according to police chief William Worden. One such example is the recent charges of 36 defendants for allegedly being part of a drug trafficking operation based out of Port Jervis, New…

As the dual forces of the pandemic and fentanyl drive up overdose deaths, bail reform is inflaming the crisis even further, according to Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler. Since the pandemic, Orange County drug overdose deaths have climbed from 79 in 2019 to 102 in 2020 and 123 in 2021, according to data published…

As the dual forces of the pandemic and fentanyl drive up overdose deaths, bail reform is inflaming the crisis even further, according to Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler. Since the pandemic, Orange County drug overdose deaths have climbed from 79 in 2019 to 102 in 2020 and 123 in 2021, according to data published…