Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Omar DeJesus, age 31, of Amsterdam, New York; Dalmary Morales, age 37, of Schenectady, New York; and Juan Saez, age 35, of Rochester, New York, pled guilty yesterday to their respective roles in transporting firearms stolen from Target Sports, Inc., a federally licensed firearms dealer in Schenectady County.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Morales, as part of her plea, admitted on October 22, 2017 and into the following morning, she drove Christian Roman and Jose Fontanez to Target Sports and later helped them inventory the stolen firearms at her apartment in Schenectady.

DeJesus, a felon, admitted as part of his plea that he allowed Roman and Fontanez to store dozens of stolen firearms at his residence and later helped them hide some of those firearms in a remote location.  DeJesus subsequently sold one of the stolen firearms to another person for $700.

Saez, a felon, admitted as part of his plea that he transported Roman, Fontanez, and numerous stolen firearms from Amsterdam to Rochester, New York.

DeJesus and Saez each face up to 20 years in prison, a maximum $500,000 fine, and up to 3 years of post-imprisonment supervised release.  Morales faces up to 10 years in prison, a maximum $500,000 fine, and up to 3 years of post-imprisonment supervised release.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

Roman, age 24, of Schenectady was indicted earlier this month on charges that he stole firearms from Target Sports on October 22, 2017.  The stolen firearms included pistols, shotguns, and rifles.  The indictment further alleges that Roman possessed, concealed, and stored the stolen firearms through November 1, 2017.   The charges in the indictment are merely accusations.  Roman is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Fontanez, age 36, of Schenectady, pled guilty last month to stealing the firearms and other, related charges.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 15, 2018. 

The case is being investigated by ATF and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Wayne A. Myers and Joseph A. Giovannetti.

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