NEW CITY – Former Village of Airmont Deputy Mayor Brian Downey plead guilty to six felony counts of criminal possession of a weapon this week, according to Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Walsh II. The charges stem from the discovery of a cache of illegal weapons by law enforcement officers who were executing a search warrant at Downey’s residence in September of 2021.
Downey’s sentencing before Rockland County Court Judge Larry Schwartz on June 27, 2023. He faces two years in the Rockland County Jail for the six county charges. His sentence will run concurrently with his federal sentence that has not been released. Downey plead guilty to possession of an unregistered firearm, a federal violation, in the United States District Court on February 10, 2023.
In December 2021 Downey was indicted by a Rockland County Grand Jury on 117 felony weapons charges and three felony charges for possessing counterfeit law enforcement credentials.
In Rockland, Downey entered a guilty plea to two counts of criminal possession of a weapon for possessing two illegal weapons; a Colt Carbine rifle and an Aero Precision semi-automatic rifle. Downey also entered guilty pleas on two counts of criminal possession of a weapon for possessing two illegal silencers, also known as muzzle suppressors. The last two charges Dpwney will be sentenced on are two counts of criminal possession of a weapon for being in possession of two illegal large-capacity feeding devices. Each magazine was capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
District Attorney Tom Walsh said, “Investigators from my office and many other law enforcement agencies were able to see this investigation through to a guilty plea. I commend them for their dedication and hard work, striving to keep Rockland a safe community. Many thanks to the Department of Homeland Security Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Town of Ramapo Police Department, and the Rockland County Sheriff’s Department Bureau of Criminal Investigation.”