Cruz-Lanza
GOSHEN – A City of Newburgh man was convicted by an Orange County Court jury on Tuesday of two felony counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance.
Jose Cruz-Lanza faces up to nine years in state prison when sentenced on February 23.
Prosecutors maintained that on May 11, 2015 police recovered over five grams of cocaine from his pants pocket. Police had confronted Cruz-Lanza when they responded to reports of gunshots on South Clark Street in Newburgh and saw him running from the scene. It was later determined he had not been involved in the shooting.
The cocaine, which consisted of both crack cocaine and powder cocaine, was contained in a plastic bag that held seven smaller bags of the drug.
Police experts testified that the manner in which the cocaine was packaged showed that Cruz-Lanza had intended to sell it rather than use it for himself.
“The evidence in this case clearly supported the jury’s determination that this defendant possessed cocaine with the intent to sell it,” said District Attorney David Hoovler. “The illegal narcotics trade is the number one crime-driver in Orange County and elsewhere. We simply cannot tolerate the devastation that illegal narcotics are causing in our communities. My office will continue to seek lengthy state prison sentences for narcotics traffickers.”
Cruz-Lanza is in Orange County Jail without bail.
