Sentencing: Otisville Man To Serve Jail Time For Several Local Crimes

A 25-year-old Otisville man was sentenced this week to several years in state prison for his involvement in a number of incidents in the Hudson Valley over the past 13 or so months.

Charges include Criminal Possession of a Weapon and Robbery.

See Also: Armed Stand-Off In Kingston Leads To One Arrest, Handgun Recovered

Jason Mendoza Involved in Two Separate Incidents in Orange County

Back in December of 2021, closed circuit television camera picked up footage of a man firing approximately five shots from a handgun in/around 428 North Street in Wallkill around 4:00am.  After obtaining the video footage, police were able to make an identification of the shooter, naming Jason Mendoza of Otisville.

An investigation followed by the Town of Wallkill Police Department and City of Middletown Police.

It was reported that on October 17, 2022 Mendoza admitted to 'possessing the loaded and operable handgun' during the cited incident in December of 2021, and entered into a guilty plea of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree.

The Orange County District Attorney's Office went on to report that during the October 17th confession regarding the handgun, Mendoza additionally admitted to stealing $40.00 from an Uber driver on May 22, 2022.

Mendoza shared that he had been involved in a minor traffic accident at the intersection of Chattel Street and Linden Avenue in Middletown, and following the accident, attempted to steal money from the driver's vehicle. 'When the driver tried to grab Mendoza’s hand to prevent him from stealing money from his car, Mendoza punched the driver in the face.'

Mendoza Sentenced to State Prison For Gun and Robbery Cases

Orange County DA David M. Hoovler indicated that Mendoza was sentenced on Monday, January 23 to eight years in state prison with an additional five years post-release supervision for Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree.  The Robbery in the Third Degree charge also led to a sentencing of one to three years.

Mendoza will serve a combined sentence of nine to twelve years in state prison, as the court ordered the two sentences to run consecutively.