Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Joshua Massey, 32, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, was sentenced to serve 46 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Katelyn M. Hartford, who handled the case, stated that Massey was previously convicted of multiple felonies in 2012 and 2013 and is legally prohibited from possessing a firearm and ammunition. On July 30, 2022, as Rochester Police officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop on the vehicle Massey was driving, Massey crashed the vehicle at the corner of Perkins Avenue and Norran Drive. Massey then exited the vehicle and fled on foot but was apprehended after a foot chase. Officers saw, in plain view on the driver’s side floorboard of the vehicle, a loaded 9mm pistol.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation by the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Smith and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John Devito.