Orange County resident David Carlson, 48, of Sparrowbush, had been charged with multiple counts of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide after shooting and killing Norris Acosta-Sanchez, who was a suspect in a rape in Ramapo.
Carlson had previously been convicted of first-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to five years in prison before a state appeals panel dismissed that verdict in 2018. Prosecutors chose to retry Carlson, who was found innocent following a bench trial.
Acosta-Sanchez was hired by Carlson to do odd jobs in 2013, he later found out that Acosta-Sanchez was wanted in Rockland County for allegedly having sex with a teenage girl.
Carlson reportedly called the police and Acosta-Sanchez was questioned before running into a nearby wooded area, prompting a manhunt. Two days later, Acosta-Sanchez knocked on Carlson’s door, and Carlson answered with a loaded shotgun in his hands.
It is alleged that Carlson then walked Acosta-Sanchez down his driveway and shot him twice after he lunged at him when he threatened to turn him in to law enforcement.
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