District Attorney Hoovler: Shoplifting Recidivist Pleads Guilty as Trial Scheduled to Commence
Plea Represents Defendant’s 29th and 30th Criminal Convictions
Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that on Thursday, April 10, 2025, Pedro Torres, age 62, of Newburgh, pled guilty in the Town of Newburgh Justice Court to two (2) counts of petit larceny stemming from shoplifting offenses at retail stores in 2024. The pleas came as a jury trial was about to commence in the matters. At sentencing on July 1, 2025, the People will recommend that Torres be sentenced to 364 days in jail. The convictions were Torres’s twenty-ninth (29) and thirtieth (30) criminal convictions.
As alleged in documents filed and statements made in court, on May 20, 2024 at approximately 3:45 p.m., Torres selected various household cleaning supplies from Aldi’s in the Town of Newburgh and left the store without paying. Torres got into a taxi and fled, but was identified as the perpetrator by members of the Town of Newburgh Police Department. On July 3, 2024, at approximately 12:15 p.m., Torres took multiple household cleaning supplies and grocery items from Walmart in the Town of Newburgh and left the store without paying. After leaving the store, an Officer from the Town of Newburgh Police Department was able to locate and stop the defendant in the parking lot. At the plea proceedings Torres admitted to stealing property from both stores.
District Attorney Hoovler thanked the Town of NewburghPolice for their investigation and the arrest of the defendant.
“Retail crime affects not only businesses in our community, but by driving up prices it also causes harm to consumers,” said District Attorney David M. Hoovler. “While bail reforms instituted in New York State in recent years have limited courts’discretion in holding recidivist offenders in custody, my Office is nonetheless committed to holding these repeat offenders accountable. I commend the Town of Newburgh for their work in bringing this frequent offender to justice.”
The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Roger Dean and Mark Butler.
A criminal charge is merely an allegation by the police 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.