Port Jervis Man Sentenced For Having Illegal Loaded Gun, Drugs

PORT JERVIS, NY — A Port Jervis man who admitted having drugs and a loaded illegal firearm found out how much time he will be spending behind bars.

Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler said Tuesday that Butchie Middleton, 37, of Port Jervis, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision related to his guilty plea to second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Prosecutors said, on July 22, 2022, City of Port Jervis Police Department officers responded to a disturbance involving a gun.

They had learned that Middleton threatened another person with the gun, which was in a shopping bag.

Before police arrived, he threw the gun away, but the victim was able to give officers the location where the gun could be found.

DNA analysis performed on the weapon was a match for Middleton, police said, and he was arrested.

While that matter was pending, police conducted about a four-month investigation into Middleton selling cocaine in Port Jervis.

An authorized search warrant was executed at a home in Port Jervis where Middleton was present.

The search resulted in the recovery of tools of the drug trade, including drug packaging materials, scales and empty baggies.

Middleton admitted in court to both illegally possessing the gun and possessing cocaine with the intent to sell it.

Hoovler said that, for far too long, law enforcement has found illegally possessed firearms in the hands and at the disposal of drug dealers.

“I have prioritized the prosecution of illegally possessed firearms for precisely this reason: dangerous guns should not be in the hands of dangerous individuals with dangerous intentions,” he said. “The lengthy prison sentence here, in light of the defendant’s criminal history, is both significant and warranted.”