Rochester Man Charged With Federal Gun And Drug Charges

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051

ROCHESTER, N.Y.   U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr.  announced today that Charles Cummings, of Rochester, New York, was charged with possessing marijuana with intent to distribute, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and  knowingly possessing firearms and ammunition after having been convicted of a felony.  The charges carry a maximum possible penalty of life imprisonment, a fine of $500,000, or both.

Assistant U.S. Charles E. Moynihan, who will handle the prosecution of the case, stated that on August 6, 2015, members of the Greater Rochester Area Narcotics Enforcement Team and Members of the Rochester Police Department executed a New York State Court authorized search warrant at 4124 Lake Avenue, in the City of Rochester, and located approximately 30 firearms of various makes and models, as well as 851 rounds of ammunition of various calibers.  Law enforcement officers also located approximately twelve ounces of a substance which they believed to be marijuana, which was inside of a safe in a bedroom, as well as over $1,800 in cash, which was inside a wallet in the same bedroom.  Cummings was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition due to a 1998 conviction for Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Second Degree.

“Thanks to the actions of the Greater Rochester Area Narcotics Enforcement Team, Rochester Police Department, and ATF,  over two dozen firearms have now been removed from the City,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul.  “In order to prevent violence and gun crime before it occurs, this Office will continue to assist local law enforcement partners whenever we are able to do so.”

The charges are a culmination of an investigation on the part of the Greater Rochester Area Narcotics Enforcement Team composed of law enforcement personnel from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives under the direction of Resident Agent in Charge James Burroughs, and the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli.
 
The fact that the defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.