Blooming Grove man gets prison sentence for DWI convictions

On Thursday, September 12, James Cassidy, 51, of Blooming Grove, was sentenced in Orange County Court to 1.5 to 4.5 years in prison after being convicted of all charges against him, including driving while intoxicated as a Class “D” felony and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the first degree, Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler announced.

According to Hoovler, on July 12, 2023, at around 6 p.m., an Orange County deputy sheriff was seeking to serve civil paperwork at the Clover Stables horse farm in New Windsor. After being unable to locate the individual to serve the civil paperwork, the deputy started to leave the property when she encountered Cassidy driving up the driveway. After a brief conversation, the deputy claimed to witness Cassidy showing signs of intoxication. Cassidy allegedly admitted to the deputy that he had been drinking and that he was coming from Montgomery and had been on the road leading to the farm. Cassidy failed several field sobriety tests, and refused to submit to a breath test, per Hoovler’s report. It was later learned that Cassidy had a revoked license and had previous convictions for driving while intoxicated.

Hoovler thanked the Orange County Sheriff’s Office for their investigation and the arrest of the Cassidy.

“The selfish decisions by drunk drivers imperil all of us who share our county’s roadways,” said Hoovler. “This repeat offender has shown no ability to curb his criminal actions despite increasing penalties. As such, the prison sentence imposed by the Court was appropriate and just. I commend the dedicated work of the members of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office who patrol our streets to make sure that they are safe for us all. My office will continue to seek justice in intoxicated and impaired driving cases.”

District Attorney Hoovler highly commended Assistant District Attorney Emily Worden who prosecuted the case.