Albany Felon Pleads Guilty to Illegally Possessing Firearms

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Roderick Jones, age 42, of Albany, pled guilty today to two separate instances of unlawful possession of firearms.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; John B. DeVito, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); and Chief Eric Hawkins of the Albany Police Department.

As part of his plea, Jones admitted that he possessed a loaded .380 caliber pistol in his vehicle when he was arrested on impaired driving charges on January 17, 2019, after crashing his vehicle into a building on Rensselaer Street in Albany.   Jones further admitted that on September 29, 2019, he possessed a 9mm pistol that he discharged four times at two occupied residences in the Ida Yarbrough Homes in Albany.  On both occasions, prior felony convictions for robbery prevented Jones from legally possessing firearms in New York. 

Jones faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of up to 3 years when he is sentenced on October 13, 2022 by Chief United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby. 

A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.

This case was investigated by the Albany Police Department and ATF with the assistance of the Albany County District Attorney’s Office.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dustin Segovia and Emmet O’Hanlon.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.