Newburgh Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Trafficking Firearms and Narcotics

Owen Beckford pleaded guilty to operating as a major trafficker for the 16th time since 2014.

Owen Beckford, also known as Marvin Ottley, is facing 15 years in prison for the trafficking of narcotics. Courtesy of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office

NEW YORK CITY—City of Newburgh resident Owen Beckford, also known as Marvin Ottley, has been sentenced to 15 years for trafficking narcotics, Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler said on Jan. 28.

Beckford pleaded guilty to operating as a major trafficker and conspiracy in the second degree and forfeited $8,909 in addition to his sentencing, according to a statement issued by the district attorney’s office. It was Beckford’s 16th guilty plea to the charge of operating as a major trafficker since Hoovler took office in 2014.

During the trial, Beckford admitted to acting as a “profiteer,” possessing more than $75,000 worth of cocaine over a six-month period and participating in a conspiracy to distribute narcotics. Police recovered 9.5 kilograms of cocaine from Beckford’s city of Newburgh apartment, where he stored his narcotics during the investigation.

Beckford was apprehended during Operation Hot Lunch, a six-month-long investigation by nearly 40 law enforcement agencies around a firearm and narcotics trafficking ring based in Newburgh. The investigation focused on a food truck that would often park near the city court in Newburgh from which guns from North Carolina and cocaine from Florida were illegally sold.

Part of the reason that the operation was named “Hot Lunch” is that New York City Police Department undercover officers bought guns and narcotics from the food truck during lunch hours.

Operation Hot Lunch began on May 21, 2024, when law enforcement agencies arrested about 30 people at various levels of the trafficking and distribution operation. Nearly 12 kilos of cocaine, 30 illegal firearms, and more than $45,000 were seized on that day as well.

Beckford was one of two cocaine traffickers who were found to have supplied cocaine to the food truck.

“Owen Beckford engaged in the illegal trafficking of firearms and narcotics for personal financial gain, prioritizing profit over public safety,” said Bryan DiGirolamo, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ New York Field Division.

“Following an extensive investigation, this trafficking network has been dismantled, preventing further acts of violence and the distribution of dangerous drugs within our communities.”