New grand jury for Deerpark killing; Indictment thrown out by court

Posted 8/21/12

SPARROWBUSH, NY — David Carlson, 43, who is charged with shooting and killing Norris Acosta-Sanchez on October 11, 2013, will face a new grand jury after a judge threw out an indictment from late …

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New grand jury for Deerpark killing; Indictment thrown out by court

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SPARROWBUSH, NY — David Carlson, 43, who is charged with shooting and killing Norris Acosta-Sanchez on October 11, 2013, will face a new grand jury after a judge threw out an indictment from late last year.

At the time of the shooting, Sanchez-Acosta had become the subject of a prolonged manhunt, and he was wanted in Rockland County on a rape charge. He was staying in a cabin near where Carlson lived.

Carlson got to know Sanchez-Acosto and had dinner with him a few times, but when Carlson learned he was wanted by police, he cooperated with police in trying to get Sanchez-Acosta into custody.

Police took Sanchez-Acosta into custody, but the fugitive talked police into letting him go back into the cabin to retrieve some personal property and he escaped out the back door and into the woods.

A manhunt was mounted the next day, but he managed to swim across a reservoir and escape once again.

Then he showed up at Carlson’s house and confronted Carlson about his role in getting him arrested, and Carlson got a shotgun. He said he was going to turn Sanchez-Acosta into police, but instead wound up shooting him in the arm and the head.

Carlson told police at the time that Sanchez-Acosta lunged at him and he fired the gun in self defense.

A police investigator, however, told the previous grand jury that Carlson did not tell them that Sanchez-Acosta lunged at him, even though a recording of the conversation between Carlson and the police showed that he did.

Carlson’s lawyer, Benjamin Ostrer, said that that mistake and others made by the prosecution, including failure by the prosecution to provide to the grand jury the recordings made when Carlson talked to police, led to a biased outcome.

Orange County Judge Robert Freehill dismissed the indictment, and gave the prosecutor the choice of appealing his decision or presenting the case to a new grand jury, which the prosecutor chose.

The prosecution is now being handled by the Westchester County District Attorney’s office because Orange County District Attorney, David Hoovler, who took office in January, was a law partner with Ostrer.

Carlson, who has had the support of his community in this matter, has been out on bail since December 8.

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