Probe Into 2021 Slaying Of Taxi Driver Results In Indictments

CITY OF NEWBURGH, NY — A multi-year, multi-state investigation has led to indictments in a 2021 homicide case.

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler and the City of Newburgh Police Department announced on Wednesday that 20-year-old Nehemiah Clarke, 19-year-old Jordan Burch, and 20-year-old Damani Cruz were arraigned on an indictment related to the killing of a taxi driver in the City of Newburgh.

Clarke is from the Town of Newburgh, while Burch and Cruz are City of Newburgh residents.

According to court documents, on September 30, 2021, around 8:40 p.m., City of Newburgh police were alerted to a shooting on North Miller Street. When officers arrived on the scene, they found a man with a gunshot wound and immediately began life-saving measures. He was later identified as Jorge Arbayza De La Cruz, and had been driving a taxi at the time of the shooting.

He died as a result of his injuries.

The homicide led to a yearslong investigation by City of Newburgh Police Department detectives, across multiple states.

On April 4, City of Newburgh detectives arrested Cruz. He was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, fourth-degree conspiracy, and related crimes.

On April 10, Clarke was processed at the City of Newburgh Police Department after being located in South Carolina, having enlisted in the United States Military. He was captured with the assistance of the United States Military Criminal Investigation Division and the US Marshals Service. Clarke was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree attempted robbery, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, fourth-degree conspiracy, and related crimes.

On April 15, Burch was processed at the City of Newburgh Police Department after being located in Hartford, Connecticut by City of Newburgh Detectives and the US Marshals Service. He was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree attempted robbery, tampering with physical evidence, fourth-degree conspiracy, and related crimes.

While Clarke and Burch were remanded in lieu of bail, Cruz was already serving a sentence on an unrelated matter.

"The horrific and senseless violence allegedly perpetrated in this case is breathtaking," Hoovler said. "Law enforcement has never relented in their pursuit of this investigation, and the indictment unsealed in this matter is the culmination of a great deal of work by the police and prosecutors assigned to the case. We will continue to provide all necessary resources to the investigation of violent crime in Orange County and will seek to hold to account those responsible.

Hoovler thanked the City of Newburgh Police Department for their investigation which led to the arrests of the three defendants. He also thanked the New York State Police, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, US Marshals Service, and Hudson Valley Crime Analysis Center who assisted, and the Orange County District Attorney's Office, in the lengthy investigation.