DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

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

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, March 21, 2017
James P. Kennedy, Jr.
, United States Attorney
Contact: Barbara Burns

Rochester Man Sentenced for Armed Drug Trafficking

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Wilfredo Sanchez, 21, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, was sentenced to 60 months in prison and five  years supervised release by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Moynihan, who handled the case, stated that on May 18, 2016, two Rochester Police Department officers, who were working in a marked RPD patrol vehicle in the area of North Clinton Avenue, observed a vehicle pull away from the curb without signaling, in violation of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law.  The officers stopped the car and the passenger, later identified as the defendant Sanchez, immediately exited the vehicle and began walking at a fast pace toward a corner store located at 1384 North Clinton Avenue. The officers asked Sanchez to stop and to return to the vehicle, which he did.  Observing marijuana inside the vehicle, the officers arrested the defendant, and upon a search of his person, the officers discovered $1,660.00 as well as a handgun. The handgun, which was loaded with eight live rounds of 9mm caliber ammunition, had a defaced serial number. After his arrest, officers advised Sanchez that he was going to be searched again. Sanchez told the officers he had more drugs and a zip lock bag containing approximately 10 grams of heroin was recovered from his pants.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ashan Benedict, New York Field Division.

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New York Field Division