Newburgh stabbing, robbery attempt on Broadway leaves two injured

A late-night confrontation near 310 Broadway in downtown Newburgh turned violent in seconds, leaving one man with a stab wound to the abdomen and both men headed to the hospital after a robbery attempt police say quickly unraveled into a struggle.

City police identified the suspect as Willie Jones, Jr., 31, of Newburgh. Investigators said Jones allegedly tried to rob the victim just after 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 19, and the victim fought back to defend himself. During the fight, the victim was stabbed in the abdomen, and both men were treated for injuries at Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital.

Jones was charged with armed robbery, assault, and two misdemeanor counts of drug possession. Those charges put the case in a more serious category than a simple street altercation, reflecting the presence of a weapon, the alleged theft attempt, and the separate drug allegations tied to the arrest.

The location adds to the concern. 310 Broadway sits in the center of Newburgh’s downtown corridor, where violence after midnight can ripple quickly through a block lined with apartments, businesses, and foot traffic by day. In a city that has been pushing to reduce shootings and other violent crime, even one stabbing in the urban core can sharpen anxiety about what happens on Broadway once storefronts close and the streets thin out.

Broadway has also seen other police attention recently. In January, a separate robbery involving a bank on Upper Broadway drew investigators to the corridor again, with police saying the suspect fled east on Broadway. City records also show an arrest-report window for the week of April 13 through April 19, and the Police Department’s Records Division maintains incident and arrest reports.

Newburgh officials have previously said a joint FBI Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force and New York State Police operation helped drive a 64% drop in bullet-to-body shootings and a 22% reduction in violent crime. But the stabbing near 310 Broadway showed how quickly a downtown encounter can still leave two people injured, trigger multiple charges, and send another case onto the city’s public-safety docket.