Middletown man sentenced to six years in prison beating man, taking wallet

GOSHEN - A Middletown man who previously pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery, a felony, was sentenced to six years in state prison and five years of post-release supervision.

Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler said the sentence for David Johnson, 47, of Middletown was pronounced in County Court on Tuesday.

According to documents filed and statements made in court, Johnson approached a man who was entering a grocery store in the city of Middletown on March 12, 2023, and allegedly demanded money.

The unidentified man walked away after giving Johnson an undisclosed amount of money, but Johnson pursued him, grabbed him by the throat and knocked him to the ground.

While the man was on the ground, Johnson allegedly punched him repeatedly in the face until he was unconscious. Johnson then took the man's wallet from his pocket and fled to a nearby apartment building.

City of Middletown police, who had observed part of the incident on a street camera, responded to the scene and located Johnson in a common area closet in the apartment building. They also recovered the victim's wallet in the closet.

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At the plea proceeding, Johnson admitted to forcibly stealing the man's property and causing him to suffer physical injury.

"The sentence imposed in this (case) makes clear that violent crimes will be met with swift and severe consequences," Hoovler said in a statement released by his office. "I hope that the resolution of the case offers the victim a degree of closure while ensuring that this violent offender is not free to victimize others."

The name of Johnson's attorney was not available.

Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record and the Poughkeepsie Journal. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com.

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Middletown 2023 grocery store altercation: Sentence delivered