Carlson
GOSHEN – A Sparrowbush man was arraigned on Friday on one count of murder and two counts of manslaughter in connection with the shooting death of another man in Orange County.
David Carlson, 43, is alleged to have shot and killed his neighbor, Norris Acosta Sanchez, after he learned Sanchez was wanted for having sex with a 14-year-old girl.
The Westchester County indictment is a resubmission of an earlier grand jury presentation by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, which later recused itself from prosecuting the case.
In August 2013, Carlson encountered Sanchez near his home and they became friendly. Carlson hired Sanchez to do odd jobs on his property and paid him with food. Over time, Carlson and his wife, Sarah, would take Sanchez shopping and he gave Spanish lessons to their children.
On October 5, 2013, Carlson learned that Sanchez was wanted on the sexual abuse case and passed the information in to State Police. On October 9, troopers questioned Sanchez at a car stop in the vicinity of Carlson’s home and Sanchez jumped out and ran into the woods eluding police.
Two days later, Sanchez knocked on Carlson’s front door. Carlson grabbed a loaded pump-action shotgun and confronted Sanchez, who he marched down his driveway in hopes of alerting a neighbor. He then attempted to alert a second neighbor.
At some point, Carlson shot Sanchez in the arm and then fired a second time, hitting him in the head, killing him.
Carlson remains in jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
