Felony and Misdemeanor Charges following Avon Traffic Stop

 

Sheriff Thomas J. Dougherty reports the arrest of a Monroe County resident on felony and misdemeanor charges following a traffic stop.

On July 29, 2022 Investigator Shawn Whitford was assigned to the Sheriff’s Office Operation Safe Interstate when he conducted a traffic stop on Interstate 390 in the Town of Avon for violations of the NYS Vehicle and Traffic law. The Investigator suspected that there was drug activity in the vehicle and conducted a drug investigation.

The roadside investigation revealed that a passenger, who was identified as 28-year-old Damien R. Jones of Rochester NY, was in possession of suspected crack cocaine.
Jones was arrested for drug charges and transported to the Livingston County Jail for processing. After transporting Jones to the jail, Deputy Jerry Pilkenton discovered that Jones had attempted to conceal additional crack cocaine and fentanyl in the back seat of his patrol vehicle
Jones was arrested and charged with two counts of felony Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, felony Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Fourth Degree, felony Tampering with Physical Evidence, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree and Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia in the Second Degree.

Jones was turned over to Central Booking Deputies at the Livingston County Jail for processing and prearrangement detention. The District Attorney’s Office was contacted in regards to bail due to the felony level charges. It was recommended that Jones be arraigned because of the serious felony charges, but that he be released on his own recognizance. The offenses did qualify for pre-arraignment detention under the NYS Justice Reform Act; however a Judge may not set bail because the offenses are non-qualifying offenses under the NYS Justice Reform Act.

The driver of the vehicle was issued traffic tickets and released.  Jones was later arraigned at the Livingston County Centralized Arraignment Part (LC-CAP) at the Livingston County Jail before Town of North Dansville Justice Werth. The Judge did release Jones per the law.
The Livingston County Public Defender’s Office was present and represented Jones at the court arraignment for his defense. The Livingston County District Attorney’s Office was notified but did not appear to represent the
people.

The investigation was handled by Investigator Shawn Whitford of the Criminal Investigations Division and Deputy Jerry Pilkenton of the Patrol Division.