'Poison Peddler' Drug Dealer Who Couldn't Stay Out Of Trouble Pleads Guilty, Now Faces 10 Years

TOWN OF NEWBURGH, NY — A Hudson Valley man might have been better off if he hadn't been put back on the streets after being arrested on drug charges.

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that 39-year-old Joshua Conklin, of Port Jervis, pleaded guilty on Monday to two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

It is expected that he will be sentenced to 10 years in prison to be followed by three years of post-release supervision when he is sentenced on November 24.

According to court documents, on December 18, 2024, around 3:34 a.m., Town of Newburgh Police Department officers made a traffic stop of a vehicle that Conklin was driving on North Plank Road. During the stop, police found that he did not have a driver's license. After officers saw what appeared to be narcotics inside the vehicle, Conklin was directed to exit the vehicle. Police later recovered narcotics from Conklin's person, including fentanyl and over 40 grams of cocaine.

While that case was pending, a joint investigation by the City of Port Jervis Police Department, the Orange County Drug Task Force, and the Town of Deerpark Police Department was conducted into narcotics sales in and around Port Jervis and Deerpark. A search warrant was then executed on homes in Port Jervis and Deerpark on April 1.

At the residence in Port Jervis, police found scales used in narcotics trafficking, in Conklin's bedroom. At the Deerpark residence, where Conklin was present, police found fentanyl and around 24 grams of cocaine.

DA Hoovler thanked the Town of Newburgh Police Department, the City of Port Jervis Police Department, the Orange County Drug Task Force, and the Town of Deerpark Police Department for their investigations which led to the arrests of Conklin.

"Notwithstanding the revolving door that bail reform laws have created for dangerous drug dealers to continue their crimes, my Office is as committed as ever to seeing these cases through to a just disposition," Hoovler said. "Law enforcement will not cease the tireless pursuit of poison peddlers who imperil the citizens of Orange County. I thank the police agencies responsible for the dedicated investigations which resulted in this defendant’s two arrests and subsequent convictions."