CITY OF NEWBURGH - A 23-year-old City of Newburgh man was wounded by gunfire Wednesday night on the south side of Newburgh and two 18-year-olds were later charged with illegal gun possession.

Newburgh city police Det. Lt. Joseph Burns said Thursday police are exploring how or if the two incidents are related.

Police said they received a call about 9:55 p.m. of a man who was shot near Benkard Avenue and William Street.

When police arrived, officers learned Darius Lee, of the City of Newburgh, had been shot in his hip and had been driven to St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital, according to a new release issued Thursday by city police.

While police interviewed Lee at the hospital, during which Lee was uncooperative, the police department received information about a man with a gun in the area of 111 West Parmenter St.

When officers arrived on West Parmenter, several people fled the area, police said.

Giovanni Alvarez, 18, of the City of Newburgh, was apprehended outside of 111 West Parmenter St., and Terrance Melvin, 18, of the City of Newburgh, was taken into custody inside the building, where police said he was found inside a bedroom on the first floor of an apartment.

Police executed a search warrant at the apartment and found four guns - a .32 caliber revolver; a .25 caliber semiautomatic handgun; a .380 caliber semiautomatic handgun; and a shotgun, according to the release.

Both men were charged with second-degree criminal possession of a loaded firearm, a felony. Melvin's weapon charge is related to the revolver; Alvarez's charge is related to one of the semiautomatic handguns, police said.

Alvarez was also charged with false personation, a misdemeanor.

Melvin was additionally charged with second-degree obstructing governmental administration, a misdemeanor.

Both men were held pending arraignment Thursday in Newburgh City Court.

In July, Melvin was free without bail and awaiting sentencing after he pleaded guilty to second-degree assault, a felony, for body slamming a teacher earlier this year in a cafeteria at Newburgh Free Academy's main campus.

Wednesday's shooting is being investigated by the city police's Non-Fatal Shooting Task Force. Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact the City of Newburgh Police Department at 845-561-3131.

lbellamy@th-record.com

Reporter Heather Yakin contributed to this story.