15 Years For Walden Shooter In Disturbing Holiday Incident

A man will spend the next 15 years in prison after he was sentenced in Orange County for a Christmas Eve 2020 shooting at a business in Walden.

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced Friday, January 9, 2026,
Wilfredo Crespo, 56, of Pine Bush, has been sentenced in Orange County Court to 15 years in prison followed by five years of parole in connection to his guilty plea in October 2025 to Second-degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon.

According to documents filed and statements made in court, on December 24, 2020, at 7:20 a.m., in the parking lot of a business in the Village of Walden, Crespo
"accosted an individual and then drew a loaded firearm and shot the victim once in the chest."
The victim then got into a vehicle and reportedly attempted to stop Crespo from fleeing the area, but he climbed onto the hood of the car and shot the victim again in the shoulder.

Crespo later turned himself into the police and admitted to shooting the victim. During the investigation, the police recovered a modified flare gun used in the shooting that discharged .22 caliber rounds. At the plea proceedings, Crespo admitted to illegally possessing the loaded firearm.

"Time and again, we see offenders with no business carrying a gun using these deadly weapons to inflict untold violence,” said District Attorney Hoovler said in October. “We must stand strong in the face of gun crime because doing so makes and keeps our communities safer.  While this defendant’s crimes left the victim with serious and lasting injuries, the hard work of law enforcement ensured that this defendant was held accountable for his actions.  We will persist in our pursuit of gun crimes and the criminals who commit them."

District Attorney Hoovler thanked the New York State Police, the Town of Crawford Police Department and the Village of Walden Police Department for their assistance during the investigation.
“The terrible physical and emotional consequences wrought by this defendant’s violent crimes demands the significant sentence imposed,” said District Attorney David M. Hoovler. “Criminals such as this defendant have no business carrying or wielding illegally possessed firearms. While this defendant’s crimes left the victim with serious and lasting injuries, the hard work of law enforcement ensured that this defendant was held accountable for his actions. We will persist in our pursuit of gun crimes and the criminals who commit them.”