Freedom Lee, Drug and Gun Charges, New York 2020

Rochester Man Pleads Guilty to Drug and Gun Charges

In a shocking turn of events, Freedom Lee, 26, of Rochester, NY, has pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

According to the charges, on April 22, 2019, Rochester Police Department officers conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle in the area of 1210 North Clinton Avenue in Rochester. The defendant was identified as the passenger in the vehicle.

During the stop, police officers recovered from Lee approximately 54 vials of cocaine; approximately 192 yellow glassine bags containing a mixture of heroin and fentanyl; approximately 15 white glassine bags containing a mixture of heroin and fentanyl; a plastic bag containing a mixture of heroin and cocaine; five yellow glassine bags containing fentanyl; a 9mm semiautomatic pistol loaded with 18 rounds of ammunition; and $1,632 in United States currency, which represented proceeds from his drug sales.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief La'Ron Singletary, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito, New York Field Division.

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 U.S. Attorney's violent crime reduction efforts.

Freedom Lee faces a minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of life, and a $1,000,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for December 4, 2020, at 2:00 p.m. before Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdny/pr/rochester-man-pleads-guilty-drug-and-gun-charges-1