DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Western District of New York

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, March 9, 2016
William J. Hochul, Jr.
, United States Attorney
Contact: Barbara Burns

Rochester Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Charge

ROCHESTER, N.Y.‐‐ U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Ronald Dodd, 32, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa to possession with intent to distribute heroin, and possession and brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The charges carry a combined mandatory minimum penalty of seven years in prison, a maximum of life, a fine of $1,250,000 or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Marangola, who is handling the case, stated that shortly after midnight on August 15, 2015, Rochester Police Department Officers responded to a report of gunfire at 431 Lake Avenue in Rochester. Officers spoke to a witness who stated that an unknown black male on a bike had pulled out a handgun from his waist and yelled that this was “his hood” during an argument outside the residence. Shortly afterward, witnesses heard gunshots and the gunman left the area. Responding officers observed Dodd riding a bike a short distance away and pursued him. The defendant fled but officers apprehended him hiding behind a bush at 17 Phelps Avenue. Dodd had three bags of marijuana, two bags of heroin, and two bags of cocaine in his pants. There was a stolen, Bryco Arms .380 semi‐automatic handgun on the ground next to a tree where Dodd was apprehended.

The conviction 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 Delano A. Reid, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division and the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 10, 2016 at 10:45 a.m. before Judge Siragusa.

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New York Field Division