GOSHEN – A Brooklyn man who was convicted in absentia in Orange County Court on charges of criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a forged instrument, has been apprehended and is in the Orange County Jail without bail on a bail jumping charge.
Kaeshawn Kerr, 27, of Brooklyn was originally stopped for speeding in Goshen on January 1, 2021. He gave state troopers a false name and fled by car to a Lowe’s home improvement center in Chester where he attempted to flee on foot. While running away, he tossed a loaded 9mm semi-automatic handgun and a forged Connecticut driver’s license in the name of “Dennis Charette.”
Kerr was committed to the county jail in lieu of $50,000 cash, $100,000 secured bond or $250,000 partially secured bond. He eventually posted bond and a trial date was set for September 9, 2021.
He never showed up and the trial was held without him.
Kerr was arrested on January 11, 2022 by sheriff’s investigator John O’Brien, who is assigned to the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force. Kerr was remanded without bail in the weapons and bail jumping cases pending his next court appearance later this month.
He faces up to 15 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision on the gun charge, 3 ½ to seven years in prison on the forged instrument charge, and two to four years on the bail jumping charge.
“I had no doubt that this defendant’s repeated attempts to avoid apprehension and punishment would ultimately prove futile,” said District Attorney David Hoovler. “Gun violence continues at alarming levels in New York State and my office will recommend that this defendant be sentenced to the maximum sentence imposed by law to deter him and others from committing similar weapons offenses and attempting to flee from prosecution.”
