SULLIVAN COUNTY — Sullivan County District Attorney Meagan Galligan announced that Jose Burgos, 32, an inmate in the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, pled guilty to first degree Possession of Dangerous Prison Contraband today during jury selection before Sullivan County Court Judge E. Danielle Jose-Decker. In 2019, while serving time at the Sullivan Correctional Facility in the Town of Fallsburg, corrections officers discovered that Burgos was in possession of a sharp instrument, commonly referred to as a “shank.” A Sullivan County grand jury subsequently indicted Burgos, and the matter proceeded to trial this morning, May 9, 2022. Jury selection was underway when Burgos changed his plea from not guilty to guilty. At sentencing, scheduled for July 1, 2022, Burgos faces up to three years of consecutive prison time to the seven-year sentence he is currently serving for a 2016 robbery in New York City.

Galligan said, “Our corrections officers put their personal safety on the line every day when they go to work. While the public does not often see them, they are protecting us all every day. This defendant put officers, civilians and others in danger and must be held accountable for his criminal conduct.” She thanked all of those who appeared for jury service today, noting that the system does not work without their participation. Galligan commended the work of Assistant District Attorney Brian Conaty, who prosecuted the case.

Burgos is represented by the Sullivan Legal Aid Panel.