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Office of the District Attorney P. David Soares Soares Announces Indictment of Bruce D. Barnes For carrying a loaded gun in Albany High School ALBANY , NY – District Attorney P. David Soares today announced the indictment of BRUCE D. BARNES, 16, of 106 Ida Yarborough Apartments in Albany , NY on two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the 3 rd Degree. BARNES faces a possible 7 years in state prison and 3 years of Post Release Supervision. The indictment alleges that on or about the 6 th day of March, 2006, at700 Washington Avenue, Albany NY (on the grounds of Albany High School), BARNES was illegally in the possession of a loaded .22 Caliber Ruger semi-automatic pistol which had been defaced by means or scratching off the serial number for purposes of concealment or misrepresenting the weapon’s identify. BARNES claimed to have found the weapon in a book bag partially concealed by a pile of leaves on his way to school. However, his story fell apart when it was revealed that the book bag had his name written in it. DA Soares noted that the indictment came a mere 2 days following the arrest. “Operation Speeding Bullet is designed to expedite gun cases. In these cases, we want the perpetrator immediately removed from the community and I applaud Frank Calderon of my staff for his rapid response in this case,” DA Soares said. “At the same time, I have to say that I am saddened by the prosecution of yet another young man for what is essentially a crime of macho stupidity. This is a crime that damages the young man, his family, his school and his community. My only solace is that no shot was fired. “We must do more to get the word out that if you carry a gun illegally in Albany County , you will be caught, you will be prosecuted, and you will be wasting the best years of your life in state prison. We also need to look ourselves in the face and ask ourselves, ‘Do we really believe that we are providing the support that young people need to negotiate the trials of teenage hood. Are we doing all that we can to provide the athletic challenges and the academic support that all teenagers need to channel their growing sense of manhood in more positive directions?’” Soares added. Back to Press Releases For further information contact: Rachel McEneny
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