ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — After a three-day trial, a federal jury found Mikal Smith, 28, of Albany guilty on Wednesday of unlawfully possessing ammunition as a felon, and possessing and intending to distribute crack. The charges were brought against Smith in July 2021, as part of an intensified focus on gun crimes from the federal government. Smith, and six others, who had been arrested in the month prior for illegally possessing guns and ammunition in the Capital Region, were all federally indicted as part of a larger effort to direct more resources to gun crime prosecutions statewide.

The evidence at Smith’s trial showed that on April 7, 2021, he possessed 83 grams of crack, along with a large-capacity magazine loaded with 20 rounds of LC 5.56 ammunition. Prosecutors also proved that Smith intended to sell the crack.

Smith ditched the drugs and ammunition during a foot chase after members of the Albany Police Department’s Community Response Unit tried to arrest him on a parole warrant. At the time, Smith had felony convictions for second-degree attempted robbery and third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. Under federal law, these convictions prevented Smith from lawfully possessing the ammunition.

When he is sentenced on December 14, Smith faces five to 40 years behind bars, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of at least four years. This case was investigated by the Albany Police Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Allen J. Vickey and Katherine Kopita.