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Wilfredo Mercado of Newburgh pleaded guilty Friday before Orange County Court Judge Craig Stephen Brown to murder in connection with the May 2017, stabbing death of the man inside a temporary emergency housing facility in the City of Newburgh, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
At the time that he pleaded guilty, Mercado admitted that on May 23, 2017, he killed an employee inside the temporary emergency housing facility located at 44 Grand St., where Mercado resided, by repeatedly stabbing him in the torso, the DA's Office said.
Prosecutors had argued that that in addition to stabbing the victim, Mercado had repeatedly bludgeoned him and strangled the victim with his own belt.
Under a plea agreement, Mercado faces up to 21 years to life in prison when he is sentenced on Jan. 8, 2019.
District Attorney David Hoovler thanked the City of Newburgh Police Department for their investigation and the arrest of Mercado, as well as the New York State Police Major Crimes Unit who assisted in the investigation.
“This was a particularly violent murder of a man who worked to help those who required assistance,” said Hoovler. “Those who kill by committing senseless violent acts deserve lengthy prison sentences, whether or not they used a firearm. The community will be safer while this defendant remains incarcerated.”
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