MONTICELLO, NY — District Attorney Meagan Galligan announced that Jamell Russ, 39, of Syracuse, was convicted by a jury before the Sullivan County Court on March 2 of two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, Endangering the Welfare of a Child and three traffic infractions in connection with a 2020 incident in the Town of Liberty.

At trial, the People proved that, on June 14, 2020, at about 3 p.m., during the course of a traffic stop for speeding on State Route 17 in the Town of Liberty, Sullivan County, Russ was discovered to be in unlawful possession of dealer plates, resulting in the impound of the vehicle he was operating. During an inventory and subsequent probable cause search of the vehicle, police discovered a loaded and operable Smith & Wesson .22 caliber revolver, a loaded and operable Bersa .380 pistol, 90 units of heroin packaged for sale and scales commonly associated with the packaging of narcotics for sale. Russ had been traveling in the vehicle with a seven-year-old child and no one else. The evidence adduced at trial included DNA analysis linking Russ to the handling of the guns.

A Sullivan County Grand Jury indicted Russ in October of 2020. Delays relating to the pandemic resulted in the commencement of the trial on Tuesday, February 22. The trial concluded on March 1and, following approximately 15 minutes of deliberation, the jury returned its verdict at about 5 PM.

Russ, who has three previous felony convictions, faces up to 15 years of incarceration for each of his weapons convictions and 12 years of incarceration on his drug conviction at sentencing.

“This defendant’s attempt to hide evidence in the steering column of his car failed, in no small part due to the diligent and thorough work of our New York State Police. My Office will continue to hold responsible those who traffic guns and drugs, particularly in circumstances like these, where a defendant engages in this dangerous conduct while entrusted with the care of a small child,” Galligan said. She thanked Troopers Klingman and Monell, as well as the New York State Police Troop F Bureau of Criminal Investigation, VGNET, Forensic Identification Unit and Crime Lab.

Galligan further acknowledged the hard work of Assistant District Attorney Brian Conaty, who prosecuted this case and earned his first felony trial conviction with this verdict. Conaty is a lifelong resident of Monticello, and graduated magna cum laude from Touro Law School in December of 2017. He has been a member of the office since 2018 and is now primarily responsible for prosecuting all misdemeanor and felony offenses arising out of the Village of Monticello, as well as other cases assigned by the District Attorney.

Russ remains incarcerated in the Sullivan County Jail without bail pending sentencing, which is scheduled for May 3, before Sullivan County Court Judge Jim Farrell.