ALBANY, NEW YORK – Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon and ATF Special Agent in Charge John B. DeVito announced that the following defendants have been indicted within the last week for illegally possessing firearms as felons:
These are separate cases. The charges in the indictments are merely accusations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert A. Sharpe.
Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon stated: “These cases, and many others under investigation, reflect our ongoing efforts to take as many illegal guns off the streets as possible, and to prosecute those who illegally possess and use these guns. With our law enforcement partners, we are directing greater resources to prosecuting gun crimes as part of an all-hands approach to address rising violence in many of our cities. Families and neighborhoods should not have to suffer another summer of increased shootings and tragedy. We will continue working to make safer communities for all by holding offenders accountable and by engaging in community-based efforts for violence reduction.”
John B. DeVito, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), stated: “ATF New York’s highest priority is reducing violent crime. Through collaboration with our local, state and federal partners, and the use of unique investigative tools such as the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), we are fully committed to an intelligence-driven approach to disrupt and dismantle the firearms trafficking organizations and networks responsible for supplying prohibited persons and violent offenders with the crime guns plaguing our communities.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is undertaking efforts in the following areas, among others, to address the rise in shootings: