K9 Finds Gun Hidden In Laundry After Nyack Apartment House Dispute

NYACK, NY — A Nyack resident is accused of wrapping a black-and-silver handgun in a red sheet and hiding it in an apartment building's laundry room trash can after residents called police over a loud argument.

Clarkstown police went to 22 Gail Drive Jan. 11 after calls about a man with a gun involved in a dispute

The officers arrived and quickly located a man described by witnesses as the person in possession of a gun. He was detained and searched, but the officers did not locate a firearm on him, police said.

Witnesses told police the man, Anthony Middletown, knocked on a resident's door and began to argue with the man who answered. Occupants of the apartment told police that Middleton displayed a black and silver handgun and made threatening statements.

Neighbors, hearing the loud dispute, came out of their apartments — which, police said, led to Middleton leaving the area.

After listening to witnesses, police called in Officer Michael Keane and K9 Jax to perform an evidentiary search of the area.

After a thorough search of the grounds, K9 Jax entered a laundry area in the basement. There, K9 Jax provided a confirmatory sniff at the top of a receptacle indicating the presence of an explosive odor. A search of the garbage revealed a black and silver loaded .40 caliber handgun which had been concealed by a red sheet.

Middleton was charged with: Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2nd (felony), Criminal Possession of a Firearm (felony), Conceal / Alter / Destroy Physical Evidence (felony) and Menacing 2nd (misdemeanor). Middleton was arraigned in Clarkstown Justice Court Jan. 13, and sent to the Rockland County Jail. It should be noted that a criminal complaint is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty, Clarkstown police said.