District Attorney Hoovler: Middletown Drug Dealer Pleads Guilty, Again
Leslie Neilson Pled Guilty to Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree
Defendant Expected to be Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison
Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, Leslie Neilson, 34, of Middletown, pled guilty in Orange County Court to Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree. The charges stemmed from allegations that Neilson sold drugs to an undercover police officer while pending sentence for an earlier drug charge. Under the plea agreement announced on the record at the time that Neilson pled guilty, it is expected that he will be sentenced to an aggregate term of seven (7) years in prison to be followed by three (3) years of post-release supervision when he is sentenced on July 8, 2025.
As alleged in documents filed and statements made in court, the New York State Police conducted an investigation which revealed that Neilson was selling quantities of narcotics from a residence in the City of Middletown in 2024. A judicially-authorized search warrant was obtained for the residence which resulted in the recovery of twenty-two (22) grams of crack cocaine as well as materials used in the packaging and trafficking of narcotics. On January 8, 2025, Neilson pled guilty in Orange County Court to Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree and admitted that he possessed the crack cocaine with the intent to sell it. While pending sentence for those charges, the City of Middletown Police Department conducted an investigation which revealed that Neilson continued to sell narcotics while pending sentence. He was arrested for Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree and at the plea proceedings on May 6, he admitted to knowingly and unlawfully selling cocaine.
District Attorney Hoovler thanked the New York State Police Violent Gangs and Narcotics Enforcement Team (VGNET) and the City of Middletown Police Department for their investigations which led to the arrests of Neilson.
“Every day, brave police officers conduct drug interdictions to make and keep our communities safe,” said District Attorney David M. Hoovler. “This thankless and often dangerous work is done because of the peril these poisons pose to our neighborhoods. My Office supports these investigations and will seek to hold accountable anyone who chooses to sell drugs in Orange County. Let this case, like the many similar cases before it, serve as an example and a warning to those who seek to profit in the narcotics trade.”
The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant District AttorneysBryan Conway and Cassidy Turi.