A Monticello man was sentenced April 30 to 40 years to life in state prison after he was convicted earlier this year of the attempted murder of a Sullivan County sheriff’s deputy.
Sullivan County District Attorney Brian Conaty announced the sentence for Markell Jarrette, 30, of Monticello. The sentence was pronounced by Sullivan County Court Judge James Farrell.
Jarrette was convicted Feb. 11 of attempted first- and second-degree murder, first-degree criminal use of a firearm, menacing a police officer and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, all felonies.
Jarrette was convicted following an eight-day trial during which a jury found that on April 10, 2025, Jarrette attempted to murder Sullivan County Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Foertsch by pointing a loaded and illegal firearm at him at point-blank range and firing it multiple times.
Foertsch, who was responding to a larceny complaint at the time, was not struck by the gunfire and only suffered minor injuries.
During the trial, the jury heard testimony from 24 witnesses and was shown more than 50 exhibits that were entered into evidence, including surveillance footage, police radio transmissions, firearms, spent shell casings, a spent projectile, DNA evidence linking Jarrette to the trigger and magazine of the illegal firearm and ballistics evidence linking the spent shell casings and projectile to the illegal firearm.
“This society and this community will never stand for an attack on a member of law enforcement,” Conaty said in a statement released by his office. “Deputy Andrew Foertsch is an excellent and dedicated police officer who overcame significant challenges in his life to obtain the honored position he now holds.”
Conaty added that Foertsch “quickly acted after striking the defendant with a bullet and then immodestly began applying medical aid to save Jarrette’s life. The juxtaposition of this image is something to behold. Deputy Foertsch rushed to the aid of this villain who just tried to take his most valuable asset, his life.”
Jarrette represented himself in court, but he had a legal adviser who declined to be identified or make a comment on his behalf.
Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record and the Poughkeepsie Journal. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com.
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Monticello man who shot at sheriff’s deputy sentenced 40 years to life
Reporting by Mike Randall, Middletown Times Herald- Record / Times Herald-Record
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