Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Charity Lee, 40, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and a violation of supervised release, was sentenced to serve 39 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassie Kocher, who is handling the case, stated that in January 2021, Lee was convicted on federal charges of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and sentenced to time served and three years’ supervised release. On March 8, 2021, United States Probation Officers conducted a routine home visit at Lee’s Ernst Street residence. During the visit, officers recovered 15.5 grams of crack cocaine base, a razor blade and drug packaging material, as well as multiple rounds of ammunition.

The case was brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as part of its Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative. PSN is 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.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Probation Department, under the director of Chief Probation Officer Timothy Englert, the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Smith and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, New York Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito.