September 14, 2021
ROCHESTER, N.Y.- U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Derrick Huntley, 33, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and possession of firearm with an obliterated serial number, was sentenced to 45 months in prison and three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles E. Moynihan, who handled the case, stated that at approximately Noon on May 19, 2020, 911 began receiving calls from people in the area of the Driving Park Bridge that a man appeared to be intoxicated and was carrying a firearm and waiving it around. Officers responded to the bridge and identified the individual as the defendant. Officers could see he had what appeared to be a handgun in his left hand as he walked away from them. Officers approached Huntley and ordered him to drop the firearm, but he refused and threw the firearm over the side of the bridge. The defendant was then taken into custody and arrested. Once Huntley was secured, officers searched the area to the side of the bridge and found the handgun, which was loaded, in the brush.
In June 2011, Huntley was convicted in Monroe County Court Burglary in the Second Degree and Robbery in the First Degree. As a result, he is prohibited from legally possessing a firearm and ammunition.
The matter was brought by the United States 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 was the result of an investigation by the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito, New York Field Division.
