Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

ROCHESTER, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury found Laverne Singletary, 49, of Rochester, NY, guilty of possessing marijuana and possessing a firearm after having been convicted of a felony. The charges carry a maximum possible penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Craig Gestring and Charles E. Moynihan, who handled the prosecution of the case, stated that on October 6, 2012, Singletary, a four-time convicted felon, was arrested on Roth Street in Rochester after law enforcement officers attempted to stop him for carrying an open beer can on a public sidewalk. Singletary ran after being approached officers and was caught after a short foot pursuit. The defendant was placed in handcuffs. Once handcuffed, officers stood Singletary up from the ground and found a Hungarian-made 7.65 mm semi-automatic pistol which had fallen from his pants. In searching the defendant, officers also located 13 bags of marijuana.

The conviction is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives under the direction of Delano A. Reid, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Office, the Monroe County Office of Probation and Community Corrections, under the direction of Robert J. Burns, Chief Probation Officer, and the Rochester Police Department under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli.

Sentencing for Singletary is scheduled for January 15, 2016 at 9:30 a.m. before Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci who presided over the trial of the case.

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