2 HV Men Face A Decade In Prison For Illegal Possession Of Guns

NEWBURGH, NY — Newburgh residents Deon Patterson, 23, and Deandre Peacock, 22, are expected to be sentenced to a decade in state prison for illegal possession of a handgun.

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced they both pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a felony, under a plea deal that includes the DA's recommendation that Patterson serve 11 years in state prison and Peacock serve nine years in state prison with both also sentenced to five years of post-release supervision.

Both have criminal records. Patterson was convicted of this same crime in 2017. Peacock was convicted of second-degree robbery in 2017.

They are scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 24.

They were arrested after an investigation into shots fired July 5 in the area of Farrington Street.

During the course of their investigation, police received a call from a resident in a nearby building who had found a backpack with a handgun inside, prosecutors said. The police recovered a loaded .45 caliber handgun from inside the backpack.

Detectives were able to review surveillance video from the area which showed both Patterson and Peacock entering the building without a backpack and then Patterson coming out wearing the backpack, which he placed under a box and left, prosecutors said.

Surveillance video also showed Peacock hand a different gun to Patterson, who put it into a nearby garbage can.

Police officers recovered the loaded .38 caliber revolver seen in the video from the garbage can. Peacock later made admissions to police that he possessed the firearm.

During the plea proceedings, both Patterson and Peacock admitted that they unlawfully possessed a loaded firearm, prosecutors said.

The District Attorney’s Office is recommending the 2-year-longer sentence for Patterson in light of his possession of both guns, as well as in consideration of his prior criminal history, prosecutors said.

Hoovler thanked the City of Newburgh Police Department for their investigation and the arrest of Patterson and Peacock.

“The scourge of dangerous and illegally possessed guns drives violent crime,” he said. “My Office will vigorously pursue the perpetrators of gun crimes and seek significant prison sentences where appropriate. Each illegal gun taken off the street is one taken out of the hands of potentially violent criminals. I commend the dedicated work of the City of Newburgh Police Department to investigate these cases, recover the weapons and arrest those responsible.”

The case is being prosecuted by Executive Assistant District Attorney Leah Canton.

This 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, the DA's office said.