Dylan Saldana Pled Guilty to Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree
Defendant Faces up to 8 Year Prison Sentence
Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that on Monday, February 24, 2025, Dylan Saldana, 18, of Middletown, pled guilty in Orange County Court to Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree. Under the plea agreement announced on the record at the time that Saldana pled guilty, the People will recommend he be sentenced to eight (8) years in prison to be followed by five (5) years post-release supervision when he is sentenced on May 19, 2025.
As alleged in documents filed and statements made in court, on November 19, 2024 at approximately 7:00 a.m., Saldana was walking on Wickham Avenue in the City of Middletown when he saw two individuals he believed were associated with a rival gang. Saldana shot at the individuals and then fled the scene. Police recovered a shell casing from the scene and developed Saldana as a suspect. A judicially authorized search warrant was executed at Saldana’s residence and a loaded pistol was recovered under a pillow in his bedroom. Ballistic testing between the spent casing and the firearm was a match and Saldana confessed to police his involvement in the shooting. At the plea proceedings, Saldana admitted to possessing the loaded firearm.
District Attorney Hoovler thanked the City of MiddletownPolice Department for their investigation which led to the arrest of Saldana.
“Gang violence in our streets can only be disrupted by arrest, prosecution and incarceration,” said District Attorney David M. Hoovler. “The identification of violent criminals who perpetrate violent felonies is the highest priority of both police and prosecutors. We will not abide wanton gunplay in our neighborhoods. We remain focused on pursuing violent crime wherever it is committed in Orange County.”
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Mangold.
A 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.