Halfmoon man sentenced for firearms and threats charges

ALBANY, N.Y. » A Halfmoon man was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for his conviction at a 2020 trial for possession of a firearm and ammunition by a prohibited person and two counts of interstate transmission of threats to injure.

Romano McCain, 49, received the sentence of 46 months in prison and three years of post-release supervision, United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; John B. DeVito, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); and Chief David Keevern of the North Greenbush Police Department announced in a press release.

According to authorities, the evidence at trial established that in January 2020, McCain and a man had a dispute over the man’s failure to pay $65 for a motorcycle vest. In demanding payment on Jan. 10, 2020, McCain sent the man Facebook messages threatening, “Bro … just have my money … i play with guns … no fighting … and i always have one on me … you on that bs … pay me pay money,” followed by, “i will blow your head off.”

Later in the month, McCain had a falling out with another man over money McCain owed the man. On Jan. 31, 2020, McCain sent the second man a Facebook message threatening, “I will kill your dauther … bro … i dont know me … we at the strip in morning … be there … me and my girl … with the heat … see you there.” The man had an infant daughter at the time and “heat” is slang for a gun.

The evidence showed that “the Strip” is an area on River Road in North Greenbush, where motorsport enthusiasts rode ATVs, dirt bikes, and motorcycles. On Feb. 23, 2020, McCain went to the Strip with his girlfriend, was in a fistfight, and then retrieved a rifle from his girlfriend’s truck, which he fired in the direction of a crowd of people. Five days later, in the early-morning hours of Feb. 28, 2020, the ATF and other law enforcement agencies executed a search warrant at McCain’s girlfriend’s house in Latham, where McCain had spent the previous night.

In searching a box chest at the foot of the bed in the bedroom, agents discovered

a loaded .38 special caliber revolver. A box of ammunition for the revolver was discovered under a couch in the living room. In a number of text messages, McCain threatened the use of firearms and referenced his possession of firearms with his girlfriend, including after the shooting on Feb. 23, when he texted: “We got alot of guns.”

At the time he possessed the revolver and ammunition, McCain was subject to a domestic violence restraining order issued by the Albany City Court in June 2019, making his possession of the revolver and ammunition illegal under federal law.

This case was investigated by the ATF, North Greenbush Police Department, and Colonie Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cyrus P.W. Rieck and Rachel Williams.