Rochester Man Pleads Guilty To Gun Charge

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
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ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Kevin Small, 25 of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford to possessing a firearm not registered in the National Firearms Registry, that is, a sawed-off shotgun. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000.00, or both. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles E. Moynihan, who is handling the case, stated on April 5, 2014, the Rochester Police Department responded to the area of 177 Sixth Street in Rochester for a report of a burglary in progress. The caller indicated she heard glass break and saw a male climb through the window of the house next door. The caller also described a person with a gray pullover and blue hat getting into a dark station wagon, headed north on Sixth Street. A short while later, officers observed Small, who matched the description provided by the caller, enter a store in the area. The defendant was stopped, detained and brought back to the location of the burglary for further investigation which ultimately determined that Small resided at the location but had been locked out by his girlfriend. The defendant was entering the location through the window to get his belongings which he was putting in the dark colored station wagon. Officers searched the vehicle and found the sawed off shotgun, a 12 gauge, Iver Johnson Excel single shot shotgun.

The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Rochester Police Department Chief Michael Ciminelli, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Delano A. Reid.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 14, 2016, at 3:00 p.m. before Judge Wolford.