Maximum Sentence Doled Out For Breaking Man's Jaw: DA

NEWBURGH, NY — An Orange County man found out how long he will be spending behind bars for breaking a man’s jaw.

District Attorney David Hoovler said that on Monday Michael Cowan, 37, of Newburgh, was sentenced in the Orange County Court to the maximum permitted sentence of seven years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision in relation to his conviction after a jury trial for second-degree assault.

Prosecutors said that, around 9:30 p.m. on July 31, 2022, outside of a home on Hidden Creek Boulevard in the village of Monroe, Cowan severely beat the man who lived there.

When a witness to the attack yelled at Cowan to stop beating the man while he was lying defenseless on the ground, Cowan fled, saying he believed the man owed him money.

The victim suffered serious physical injury from the attack, including a broken jaw, which required multiple surgeries.

Village of Monroe police officers executed a search warrant at Cowan’s home and recovered gloves that had what appeared to be blood on them.

At the trial, prosecutors argued that DNA testing of the gloves, along with other evidence in the case, established that Cowan had worn the gloves during his attack on the victim.

Hoovler said that violence is never the answer to settling disputes.

“Repeat felony offenders, such as this one, deserve for their violent actions to be met with stern consequences,” he said. “The maximum sentence imposed in this case was earned by this defendant’s criminal conduct.”