Georgia Man Pleads to Guilty Trafficking Charges

        ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Liddon Young, 32, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. to conspiracy to unlawfully deal firearms without a federal firearms license and unlawfully dealing in firearms without a license, as well as selling firearms to a convicted felon. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $750,000 fine or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Marangola, who is handling the case, stated that between August 2012 and February 6, 2013, Young conspired with Paul Davis to unlawfully traffic firearms from the Atlanta, Georgia area to Rochester. Young sold multiple firearms and rounds of ammunition to Davis in the Atlanta area which were then transported by Davis and others for illegal resale on the black market in Rochester. Young delivered 11 firearms to Davis on February 6, 2013 in Rochester as part of the conspiracy. Davis and others deposited money into a bank account in Young’s name as payment for the illegal firearms business.

“This is yet another positive development in our continuing fight against violent gun crime,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “Today, a person who brought numerous illegal firearms to Rochester stands convicted in Federal Court and faces a lengthy term in prison. Yesterday’s Federal Court jury conviction of three men who used firearms to murder three persons in Greece means that each will likely spend the rest of their lives in jail. As these cases demonstrate, law enforcement will not rest until all violent criminal operations are brought to justice.”

Paul Davis was arrested February 6, 2013 after selling a Georgia pistol to a confidential informant. Multiple federal search warrants executed resulted in the seizure of 10 additional firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Liddon Young was arrested in Rochester on February 8, 2013 in possession of a loaded .380 caliber pistol. Davis was convicted on gun charges in April 2012 and is awaiting sentencing.

The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of on the part of Special Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Joseph Anarumo and the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief James Sheppard.