Rochester Man Sentenced To 25 Years In Prison For Drug Trafficking And Gun Possession

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
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ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Ian D. Goolsby, 40, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted after a jury trial of possession of heroin with intent to distribute; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; possession of a firearm and ammunition as a previously convicted felon; possession of a firearm with removed, altered and obliterated serial number; and unlawful possession of a controlled substance, was sentenced to 25 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charles E. Moynihan and Craig R. Gestring, who handled the prosecution of the case, stated that on March 11, 2015, an Elmira Police Department officer conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle Goolsby was driving. When speaking to the defendant, the officer smelled marijuana coming from the car and asked Goolsby about the odor. The defendant said that it was on his clothes and that he smoked it earlier. The officer asked Goolsby to exit the vehicle and, after some discussion, he complied. A passenger was also asked to exit the vehicle. Officers searched the car and found a small amount of plant material, which was later determined to be marijuana, between the passenger seat and passenger door, as well as on the driver’s side of the car. A brown Nike shoe box was also found on the passenger side floor, inside of which was a Ruger, Model P90, .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol. The serial number had been removed or obliterated. Officers also found a magazine loaded with six .45 caliber rounds of ammunition with the handgun.
 
A further search of the vehicle uncovered a black insulated bag containing white, uncooked rice. Inside of this, they found 41 small wax-coated envelopes containing a white powdery substance with a stamp saying "dead man walking." A forensic chemist from the New York State Police Southern Tier Satellite Crime Laboratory examined one of the envelopes and concluded the white substance inside was heroin. 

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by Elmira Police Department, under the direction of Chief Joseph Kane; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ashan Benedict, New York Field Division.