Jonathan Bandler

jbandler@lohud.com

An Orange County judge on Thursday dismissed David Carlson's indictment in last year's shooting death of a man suspected of raping a teenage girl in Ramapo.

Carlson shot Norris Acosta-Sanchez on Oct. 11, 2013, as he was leading him down the road from his home in Sparrowbush after police had failed to catch the fugitive over the previous few days. Carlson claims that he fired when Acosta-Sanchez lunged at him and Judge Robert Freehill ruled that the integrity of the grand jury was compromised because of how the Orange County prosecutor presented the case.

"The failure to provide the Grand Jury with defendant's full statements regarding the behavior of Mr. Sanchez when compounded by the misstatement (of a state trooper who testified Carlson never claimed Sanchez made aggressive movements) likely caused prejudice to the Grand Jury against a potential defense and may have resulted in needless prosecution," Freehill wrote in his decision.

The judge found that although Sanchez had no weapon the defense could have argued the shooting was justified if Carlson feared Acosta-Sanchez was lunging to get his gun.

"We're pleased. It's the relief we requested," said Carlson's lawyer, Benjamin Ostrer. "But it does not end this."

Westchester prosecutors have handled the case since early this year after Ostrer's former partner became Orange County District Attorney. Freehill stayed his ruling for 30 days as prosecutors consider whether to appeal the dismissal. If they don't, they can present the case to a new grand jury.

Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for the Westchester District Attorney's Office, had no comment on the ruling but said prosecutors were considering their options.

The indictment a week after the shooting charged Carlson with second-degree murder, first- and second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.

But after pre-trial hearings in August, Ostrer sought the dismissal of the indictment, arguing that the prosecutor and a state trooper had purposely kept from grand jurors Carlson's statements about feeling threatened by Acosta-Sanchez's aggressive movements.

In the summer and fall of 2013, Acosta-Sanchez was doing work on Carlson's property while staying in a cabin there. When Carlson learned he was wanted in Ramapo for having sex with a 14-year-old, he contacted police and set up a ruse with them to catch the fugitive.

For the next two days, Carlson drove around with Acosta-Sanchez so that police could pull him over. They did on the second day and took Acosta-Sanchez into custody. But he convinced them to let him get his identification at the cabin and fled out the back. The next day during a manhunt, he was spotted but got away by swimming across a reservoir.

The following day, Acosta-Sanchez returned and confronted Carlson about turning him in. Carlson pulled out a shotgun and walked him down the road to try to get a neighbor's attention so he would call police. He had Acosta-Sanchez get down on the ground and claimed he shot him, first in the arm then in the head, when the fugitive rose and came at him.

Twitter: @jonbandler