Whitehall Man Pleads Guilty to Unlawfully Possessing Firearms and Ammunition

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Shane Smith, age 24, of Whitehall, New York, pled guilty today to unlawfully possessing two short-barrel rifles, and to unlawfully possessing hundreds of rounds of ammunition as a felon. 

The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon; Thomas F. Relford, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and John B. DeVito, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).

Smith was convicted in 2016 of unlawfully possessing a machine gun, a federal offense.

Smith was released from prison on April 11, 2018, and began serving a 3-year term of supervised release.  On December 15, 2020, United States Probation Officers searched his Whitehall residence. In pleading guilty, Smith admitted that the search uncovered two rifles whose barrels were each less than 16 inches in length, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. 

United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino is scheduled to sentence Smith on August 27, 2021.  For the firearms conviction, Smith faces up to 10 years in prison; a fine of up to $10,000; and up to 3 years of supervised release.  For the unlawful possession of ammunition conviction, Smith faces up to 10 years in prison; a fine of up to $250,000; and up to 3 years of 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. 

This case was investigated by the United States Probation Office, FBI, and ATF, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Belliss.