Schenectady man found guilty of gun charges

A Schenectady man is facing a lengthy prison sentence after being found guilty last week of weapons possession.

Demetrius Howard was convicted of four counts of criminal possessing of a weapon and tampering with physical evidence. It stemmed from an incident that happened Oct. 18, 2022 on Crane Street, in which Schenectady Police officers saw Howard take a bag contained a loaded handgun from his co-defendant, according to the Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office. 

An officer attempted to take the bag away, and prosecutors said Howard grabbed the officer’s wrist with his left hand and tried to pull the bag away from the officer with his right. The officer held on to the bag and Howard ran away behind buildings on Crane Street. However, he was caught about two minutes later.

In addition to the loaded gun, he also had a high-capacity magazine.

Howard will be sentenced at a later date.

He has four felony convictions, according to prosecutors. He could face a sentence of 5 to 15 years on one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and lesser sentences for the other weapons possession charges and criminal tampering charge. Judge Matthew Sypniewski will decide whether to run the sentences consecutively or concurrently.