Jury Finds Paul Guilty Of Murder In 2019 Mistaken Identity Slaying

MIDDLETOWN, NY — A Hudson Valley man has been convicted by a jury in a deadly act of revenge.

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that on Friday, 42-year-old Sheldon Paul, of Middletown, was convicted after a jury trial in Orange County Court of two counts of second-degree murder for the 2019 killing of a Middletown man.

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Paul now faces up to twenty-five years to life in prison when he is sentenced on Jan. 21. He was remanded to the Orange County Jail without bail following the jury's verdict.

On the morning of March 11, 2019, two men, aged 18 and 19, entered the apartment of the victim on Knapp Street in the City of Middletown. The sole occupant of the apartment was later found dead as the result of a gunshot wound to his head.

During the trial, prosecutors argued that Paul had sent the two men to the apartment in apparent retaliation for the mistaken belief that the victim had orchestrated a burglary of Paul's home. Paul later realized that he had been wrong, and that the victim was not involved in the burglary at all.

"This defendant attempted to get away with murder by sending two teenagers to the victim's home, the very place where a person should feel the most secure," Hoovler said. "I commend the unrelenting work of the City of Middletown Police Department in pursuing this investigation and working with my office to see that justice was done. I hope this verdict brings some measure of closure to the family and loved ones of the victim. We will be seeking the maximum permissible sentence when this defendant is sentenced."