Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Watertown Man Sentenced to 14 Months for Unlawfully Possessing Sawed-Off Shotgun
Rafael Rondon Will Also Face Sentencing in Washington, D.C. for Conviction Related to January 6, 2021 Capitol Breach
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Rafael Rondon, age 25, of Watertown, New York, was sentenced today to 14 months in prison for possessing an unregistered sawed-off shotgun.
United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.
As part of his previously entered guilty plea, Rondon admitted to possessing an unregistered Iver Johnson’s Arms & Cycle Works 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun. The shotgun, which had a barrel length of less than 18 inches and an overall length of less than 26 inches, was not registered to the defendant in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, as required by law.
Senior United States District Judge Frederick J. Scullin, Jr. also sentenced Rondon to a 3-year term of supervised release, to begin after his imprisonment, and ordered forfeiture of the sawed-off shotgun.
Rondon also pled guilty on December 5, 2022, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, to obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony, for his activities inside the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021. Sentencing in that case is scheduled for September 12, 2023 in Washington, D.C., at which time he faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years.
The Northern District of New York case was investigated by the FBI Albany Joint Terrorism Task Force, with assistance from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the New York State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Green and Richard Southwick prosecuted the case.