A Newburgh man who was convicted of robbery by a jury was sentenced May 26 in Orange County Court to 13 years in state prison and five years of post-release supervision.
Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler announced the sentence for Robert Smith, 55, of Newburgh.
A jury previously found Smith guilty of second-degree robbery, a felony.
It was alleged at his trial that at approximately 1:10 p.m. on Oct. 12, 2024, Smith, while riding a bicycle, approached a man on a street in the City of Newburgh, argued with him and demanded money.
When the man refused to pay and kept walking, Smith got off the bicycle and punched the other man multiple times, causing him to fall backward and strike his head on the pavement.
Smith then went through the victim’s pockets, took property and fled.
Prior to Smith’s trial, the victim died from unrelated causes. Hoovler said that as a result, the case was proven beyond a reasonable doubt at trial by other witnesses and evidence.
“The appropriately lengthy sentence imposed on this violent recidivist will help to make our community safer,” Hoovler said in a statement released by his office.
The name of Smith’s attorney was not immediately available.
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: Newburgh man sent to prison for 13 years in violent robbery
Reporting by Mike Randall, Middletown Times Herald- Record / Times Herald-Record
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