Orange County Man Acquitted In Killing Of Rape Suspect

GOSHEN, NY — An Orange County man who was accused of murdering a rape suspect near his home in 2013 was acquitted Thursday after his second trial. David Carlson, 48, of Sparrowbush, was facing murder and manslaughter charges for the fatal shooting of Norris Acosta-Sanchez.

Carlson had been convicted in 2016 of first-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to five years, but a state appeals panel dismissed that verdict in 2018, the Journal News reported.

Prosecutors chose to retry him, and a bench trial — meaning a judge, not a jury, heard the case — was conducted.

Carlson met Acosta-Sanchez in 2013 and hired him to do odd jobs, including giving his children Spanish lessons.

Carlson later learned that Acosta-Sanchez was wanted in neighboring Rockland County for having sex with a teenage girl.

The police were called and Acosta-Sanchez was stopped and questioned, but ran into the woods and a massive manhunt was begun.

Two days later, Acosta-Sanchez knocked on Carlson's door, and Carlson met him with a loaded shotgun. Carlson marched the man down the driveway and shot him twice.

Officials pursued the murder charge even though Carlson's fatal contact with Acosta-Sanchez was because he appeared at Carlson's door.

Find and “Like” Hudson Valley Patches' Facebook Pages.