A City of Newburgh man who led police on a chase in Woodbury and was found in possession of an estimated $200,000 in drugs was convicted of major felony charges in Orange County Court yesterday.
Sherlan Simpson, age 37, was stopped by New York State Troopers for a traffic violation in the vicinity of Route 32 in Woodbury on January 6, 2021. Troopers observed a backback in the rear seat of Simpson’s vehicle. According to police, Simpson then fled the traffic stop in his car and raced into the Woodbury Commons parking lots. Surveillance video showed a backpack being thrown from his car.
State troopers recovered the bag from where Simpson threw it. Inside the bag was Simpson’s personal belongings, as well as two kilos of cocaine with an estimated street value of $200,000, said Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler. A subsequent DNA analysis of the contents of the bag matched Simpson.
Five days later, evidence from the case was presented to the Orange County Grand Jury. Simpson chose to testify on his own behalf. After taking an oath to tell the truth, Simpson allegedly denied that he ever had a backpack in the car or threw a backpack from his car.
Following a jury trial, Simpson was found guilty of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the 1st degree, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the 3rd degree, and Perjury in the 1st degree.
Simpson faces up to 27.5 to 31 years in the state penitentiary between the drug charges and the perjury charge.
“The spread of vast quantities of dangerous narcotics was disrupted by the keen attention of the law enforcement officers in this case,” said Hoovler. “This defendant was prevented from peddling his drugs in our communities by his arrest, prosecution and conviction. That the defendant would go so far as to lie under oath before the Grand Jury strikes at the very heart of our criminal justice system and itself deserves stern punishment. I thank the law enforcement agencies responsible for this defendant’s arrest and reiterate my Office’s dedication to targeting the trafficking of narcotics throughout Orange County.”
