Department of Justice

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has returned a one count indictment charging Tyrone E. Jiggetts, 47, of Rochester, NY, with being felon in possession of a firearm. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassie M. Kocher, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment, on May 6, 2019, the defendant possessed a 12 gauge double-barrel shotgun in the area of 799 West Main Street in Rochester. Jiggetts was previously convicted in Monroe County Court of Robbery in 1991 and Attempted Grand Larceny in 2004. As a result, he is legally prohibited from possessing a firearm.

 

Jiggetts was arraigned today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan W. Feldman and was detained.

 

The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief La’Ron D. Singletary, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito.

 

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 fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.