Georgia Man Sentenced on Gun Trafficking Charges

   ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Liddon Young, 32, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, who was convicted of conspiracy to unlawfully deal firearms without a federal firearms license and unlawfully dealing in firearms without a license, as well as selling firearms to a convicted felon, was sentenced to 180 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. The defendant was also ordered to forfeit 12 firearms and over 500 rounds of ammunition.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Marangola, who handled the case, stated that between August 2012 and February 6, 2013, Young conspired with Paul Davis to unlawfully traffic firearms from the Atlanta, Georgia area to Rochester. Young sold multiple firearms and rounds of ammunition to Davis in the Atlanta area which were then transported by Davis and others for illegal resale on the black market in Rochester. Young delivered 11 firearms to Davis on February 6, 2013 in Rochester as part of the conspiracy. Davis and others deposited money into a bank account in Young’s name as payment for the illegal firearms business.

Paul Davis was arrested February 6, 2013 after selling a Georgia pistol to a confidential informant. Multiple federal search warrants executed at Young’s residences in Georgia resulted in the seizure of 10 additional firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Liddon Young was arrested in Rochester on February 8, 2013 in possession of a loaded .380 caliber pistol. Davis was convicted on gun charges in April 2012 and is awaiting sentencing.

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of on the part of Special Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Cannon and the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli.