Schenectady Man Sentenced to 150 Months for Role in Gun Store Burglary

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Christian Roman, age 25, of Schenectady, New York, was sentenced to serve 150 months in prison for stealing, possessing, concealing, and storing firearms stolen from Target Sports, Inc., a federally licensed firearms dealer in Schenectady County.

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

United States District Judge Norman A. Mordue also sentenced Roman to a three year term of supervised release and ordered that he pay restitution of $48,775.00

Roman pled guilty on November 21, 2018.  As part of his plea, Roman admitted that, on October 22, 2017, he and Jose Fontanez broke a window to gain entry into Target Sports and then removed dozens of firearms, as well as ammunition and other property from the store, making multiple trips to and from the store with the assistance of Dalmary Morales.  Roman further admitted that, after inventorying the stolen firearms, the two men hid them in a storage unit in Schenectady, New York and, while on the run from law enforcement, enlisted accomplices in Amsterdam, New York and Rochester, New York to help retrieve and transport them to various locations in New York.  In exchange for their assistance, Roman and Fontanez provided some of the stolen firearms to their accomplices.

Omar DeJesus, age 32, and Onic Martinez, age 34, both of Amsterdam, pled guilty in 2018 for their roles in stealing, transporting, and possessing the firearms.  Both men were sentenced to 120 months in prison.

Dalmary Morales, age 24, of Schenectady, pled guilty in 2018 to stealing the firearms from Target Sports.  She was sentenced to 57 months in prison.

Juan Saez, age 35, of Rochester, pled guilty in 2018 for his role in stealing, transporting, and possessing the firearms.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 2, 2019.

Jose Fontanez, age 36, of Schenectady, pled guilty in 2018 to stealing the firearms from Target Sports, and other, related charges.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 16, 2019.

The case was investigated by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), New York State Police, and the Glenville, (New York) Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne A. Myers.