Armed Drug Trafficker Pleads Guilty

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051
 
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Bruce King, 48, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford to possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession of a short-barrel rifle which was not registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or both.

            Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Moynihan, who is handling the case, stated that King was arrested on October 19, 2015, following a search by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision of his residence at 161 Conkey Avenue in Rochester. During the search, officers recovered a brown paper bag with plastic capsules containing marijuana inside a backpack. Officers also found a .22 caliber sawed-off rifle with two boxes of .22 caliber ammunition. The barrel and the stock of the rifle had been shortened so that the barrel was 5 and 10/16 inches and the overall length was 14 and 1/16 inches. Officers also found drug trafficking paraphernalia in the residence as well.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, under the direction of Acting Commissioner Anthony J. Annucci; the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ashan Benedict, New York Field Division.

Sentencing is scheduled for January 22, 2018, at 12:30 p.m. before Judge Wolford.