Anthony Nelson Previously Pled Guilty to Conspiracy in the Second Degree
Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, Anthony Nelson, age 56, of Poughkeepsie, was sentenced in Orange County Court to a term of six (6) to twelve (12) years in prison relative to his guilty plea to Conspiracy in the Second Degree.
The case was the result of the coordinated efforts of numerous law enforcement agencies who conducted an enforcement action after a long-term investigation into firearm and narcotics trafficking in Orange County. The operation, code named “Hot Lunch”, resulted in the arrests of twenty-six (26) people charged with narcotics, firearm and conspiracy offenses, and is believed to be the largest narcotics and gun trafficking case in the history of Orange County.
A six (6) month long intensive investigation into illegal firearms and narcotics trafficking in Orange County was conducted by the Orange County Drug Task Force (OCDTF), the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, together with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, the City of Middletown Police Department, New York State Police, the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department, and the Hudson Valley Crime Analysis Center. As alleged in documents filed and statements made in court, the investigation revealed that Kirkland Salmon was at the center of four different conspiracies to traffic narcotics and firearms through Orange County. Salmon was supplied with quantities of cocaine by two different narcotics suppliers, Owen Beckford a/k/a Marvin Ottley and Joshua Arnold, to distribute from his food truck parked in the City of Newburgh. Salmon was also supplied with firearms to resell in Orange County by Andre Smith. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement learned of Beckford’s and Arnold’s narcotics distribution organizations, both of which distributed cocaine in the City of Newburgh and elsewhere in Orange County. During the investigation, law enforcement recovered twenty-four (24) firearms and one (1) kilogram of cocaine. On the day of the enforcement action on May 21, 2024, police additionally recovered over eleven (11) kilograms of cocaine, approximately ninety (90) grams of fentanyl, seven (7) guns, high-capacity magazines, numerous rounds of ammunition, approximately $45,000 of US currency, scales and packaging materials used in narcotics trafficking and ten (10) vehicles that were instrumentalities of the crimes charged. Additionally, law enforcement seized one food truck.
At the plea proceedings, Nelson admitted conspiring with Owen Beckford and others to distribute cocaine.
District Attorney Hoovler thanked the agencies involved in the investigation, as well as the following agencies who assisted in the enforcement action on May 21, 2024: City of Newburgh Police Department; Town of Newburgh Police Department; Town of Woodbury Police Department; Town of Montgomery Police Department; Town of Wallkill Police Department; and the Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson Police Department.
“The sentence imposed in this case is yet further proof of the success of Operation Hot Lunch,” said District Attorney David M. Hoovler. “It takes the cooperation of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, together with dedicated prosecutors to see cases like this through. We remain committed to keeping Orange County safe from the dangers of narcotics. We will continue to leverage all available resources in these efforts on behalf of the residents of Orange County.”
The cases are being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Alexis Gregory.
A criminal charge is merely an allegation by the police that a defendant has committed a violation of the criminal law, and it is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the State of New York’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
