U.S. Department
of Justice
Press Release
Bronx Man Sentenced On Gun Charge
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of New York
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-305
BUFFALO, N.Y.-Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Christian O. Dalmau, 31, of Bronx, NY, who was convicted of possession of a firearm by an unlawful user of a controlled substance, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to 120 months in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Wei Xiang, who handled the case, stated that on the night of January 5, 2014, Dalmau was the sole passenger in a GMC Yukon vehicle that was being driven by another individual when the Yukon was stopped by Buffalo Police officers near Bailey and Cloverdale Avenues. The Yukon contained a hydraulic hidden compartment or “trap” in its cargo area. Inside the trap was a Taurus, 9mm semi-automatic handgun loaded with 13 rounds of ammunition.
Also inside the trap in the Yukon were three foil packets that each contained eight oxycodone pills, pills, which were consistent in appearance with other oxycodone pills Dalmau left in the backseat of the Buffalo Police car in which he had been placed. Dalmau admitted to being addicted to the pills.
The traffic stop occurred less than 20 minutes after the shooting murder of Dustin Ortiz-Maldonado on Newfield Street. After a sentencing hearing, Judge Arcara declined to find whether Dalmau used the firearm in the commission of the murder, that is, to find whether Dalmau was the shooter. The Court, however, did find by a preponderance of the evidence that Dalmau possessed the firearm in connection with the murder. Therefore, the Court sentenced Dalmau in accordance with the homicide guidelines.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ashan Benedict, New York Field Division: the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction Chief Daniel Derenda: and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division.
Updated August 31, 2017
Component