GOSHEN – A 38-year-old New Jersey man faces up to 15 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision when sentenced in Orange County Court in August.
District Attorney David Hoovler said Louis Dessources, was convicted following a jury trial of criminal possession of a weapon and driving while under the influence of alcohol.
He was remanded to the Orange County Jail without bail following the jury verdict.
At about 2:50 in the morning on August 15, 2021, State Police stopped a Lincoln Navigator that was driving southbound on the Thruway in the Town of New Windsor for traffic violations.
Dessources, who was alone in the vehicle, had the odor of alcoholic beverage on his breath and appeared intoxicated.
He refused to take a breathalyzer test and was arrested for misdemeanor driving while under the influence of alcohol.
A loaded 9 mm semi-automatic pistol was found in his bookbag, which was recovered from the front passenger seat of the vehicle.
“Illegal weapons possession cannot be tolerated,” said Hoovler. “This defendant possessed the loaded pistol in a bag that was within arm’s reach as he was driving on the New York State Thruway,” the DA said. “This illegally possessed handgun endangered the community, as did the defendant’s actions in choosing to drive on a highway while he was intoxicated.”
