Schenectady Man Pleads Guilty to Breaking into Store and Stealing Firearms

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Christian Roman, age 24, of Schenectady, New York, pled guilty to stealing firearms from Target Sports, Inc., a federally licensed firearms dealer in Schenectady County, and to possessing, concealing, and transporting those stolen firearms.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

As part of his guilty plea, Roman admitted that on the night of October 22, 2017, he broke into Target Sports while it was closed and, with the help of Jose Fontanez, stole dozens of firearms from inside the gun store located on Saratoga Road in Glenville.  The firearms included pistols, shotguns, and rifles.  With the assistance of various accomplices, Roman and Fontanez spent the following two days moving the stolen firearms between various locations in Schenectady and Amsterdam, New York, including private residences, a self-storage unit, and a motel.  Finally, as Roman further admitted, on October 24, 2017, he and Fontanez, with the help of yet more accomplices, transported the stolen firearms to Rochester, New York.

At sentencing on April 10, 2019 in Syracuse, Roman faces up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $500,000, and up to 3 years of post-imprisonment supervised release.  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.

Jose Fontanez, age 36, of Schenectady, pled guilty earlier this year to stealing the firearms and other, related charges.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 22, 2019.

Omar DeJesus, age 31, of Amsterdam; Dalmary Morales, age 37, of Schenectady; and Juan Saez, age 35, of Rochester, all pled guilty earlier this year for their respective roles in stealing, transporting, and possessing the firearms.  DeJesus is scheduled to be sentenced on December 17, 2018.  Morales and Saez are scheduled to be sentenced on April 22, 2019.

The case was investigated by the ATF, New York State Police, and the Glenville Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne A. Myers.