Department of Justice

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Roderick Jones, age 43, of Albany, was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for two separate instances of unlawfully possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, John B. DeVito, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Chief Eric Hawkins of the Albany Police Department.

As part of his previously entered guilty plea, Jones admitted that he possessed a loaded .380 caliber pistol in his vehicle when he was arrested on impaired driving charges on January 17, 2019, after crashing his vehicle into a building on Rensselaer Street in Albany. Jones further admitted that on September 29, 2019, he possessed a 9mm pistol that he discharged four times at two occupied residences in the Ida Yarbrough Homes in Albany. On both occasions, prior felony convictions for robbery prevented Jones from legally possessing firearms in New York.

United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby also ordered Jones to serve a 3-year term of supervised release following his release from prison.

This case was investigated by the Albany Police Department and ATF, with the assistance of the Albany County District Attorney’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dustin Segovia and Emmet O’Hanlon.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.