ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced on Tuesday (3/4)  that Lucas Burke, 23, of Wolcott, who was convicted of theft of a firearm from a federal firearms licensee, was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison by United States District Judge Charles J. Siragusa.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Moynihan, who handled the case, stated on October 7, 2023, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office responded to East Side Traders on Wooster Way in Ontario, NY, for a call of intruders inside.

Eastside Traders was a Federal Firearms Licensee authorized to sell firearms under federal law. Subsequent investigation determined that at approximately 4:55 a.m. that morning, Burke smashed a window near the entrance to Eastside Traders and entered the building. Once inside, he stole a rifle. He attempted to steal two others but was unsuccessful. 

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 is the result of an investigation by the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the director of Special Agent-in-Charge Bryan Miller, New York Field Division.