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The incident took place in Orange County around 11:10 a.m., Sunday, March 12 in the area of 8-10 Main Street in Middletown.
According to Lt. Jeffry Thoelen of the Middletown Police, officers responded to the area after receiving a call reporting a fight.
Using the public camera system located at the front desk of the police department, Sgt. Jordan McInerney saw a Black man lying on top of another man on the sidewalk, violently assaulting him, Thoelen said.
Thoelen said upon arriving at the location, officers located an Asian male subject lying on the sidewalk, bleeding profusely from significant facial injuries.
Officers immediately began providing first aid to the victim, while additional officers began searching for the suspect, who was spotted entering the apartments located at 14 East Main St.
Officers entered the location and quickly located the man hiding in a maintenance closet on the second floor of the building. He was placed under arrest without incident, and property belonging to the victim was located inside the maintenance closet, Thoelen said.
The suspect was identified as David Johnson, age 46, of the City of Middletown. Johnson is a Level 2 sex offender, currently registered with the Middletown Police Department, with a felony conviction for sexual abuse, Thoelen said.
"Johnson was familiar to our officers, as he was just arrested and charged on Friday, March 10, with robbery," Thoelen said,
"The Middletown Police Department had multiple interactions with Mr. Johnson on Saturday, March 11, and Sunday, March 12, leading up to the assault and robbery of the victim at 8-10 East Main Street," Thoelen said.
The numerous interactions, including a welfare check for his mental health well-being, ended with his arrest for the violent attack, police said.
He was charged with robbery and remanded to the Orange County Jail on a $250,000 bail.
"At this time, there does not appear to be any further threat to the Middletown Community," Thoelen said. "This incident undoubtedly highlights the challenges that police departments and communities across New York State are facing in light of a lack of mental health care and criminal justice reforms that do not hold violent offenders accountable for their actions."
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