United States Drug Enforcement Administration

NEW YORK – United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey S. Berman announced that Jason Polanco, aka “Jin,” aka “Wolfman,” was found guilty today of the Aug. 31, 2014, murder of Shawn Ross, aka “S.B.,” on Decatur Avenue in the Bronx, N.Y.,  as well as participating in a narcotics conspiracy, a robbery conspiracy, the robbery of a Citgo gas station in the Bronx and the discharge of a firearm in connection with the Citgo robbery. A jury convicted Polanco today on all six counts of the indictment following a one-week trial before United States District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer.

“This morning, a unanimous jury found that Jason Polanco is a drug dealer, a robber and a killer,” said U.S. Attorney Berman. “We hope that the family of Shawn Ross finds a measure of justice in today’s verdict. We thank the NYPD, ATF and DEA for their outstanding work on this case, and for their invaluable partnership with our office.”

According to the allegations contained in the indictment and the evidence presented in court during the trial:

On Aug. 31, 2014, Polanco shot and killed Shawn Ross, aka “S.B.,” in connection with Polanco’s membership in a drug crew that controlled drug sales on Decatur Avenue between 194th and 195th Streets in the Bronx. This drug crew was responsible for distributing over a kilogram of heroin, as well as quantities of marijuana, from at least 2011 through 2015. In 2014 and 2015, Polanco and other members of the crew also committed a string of armed robberies of businesses across Manhattan and the Bronx, including the robbery of a Citgo gas station on Pelham Parkway in the Bronx. During the Citgo robbery, Polanco carried a loaded firearm, which he fired just feet away from a customer.

Polanco, 29, was found guilty of one count of participating in a conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute one kilogram and more of heroin and quantities of marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(b)(1)(A), 841(b)(1)(D) and 846, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life; one count of murder through the use of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(j), which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of life; one count of murder while engaged in a narcotics offense, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 848(e), which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life; one count of participating in a conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robberies, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of committing a Hobbs Act robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and one count of discharging a firearm in connection with the robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(iii), which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life.

Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, New York City Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

The case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Celia V. Cohen, Danielle R. Sassoon, and Gina Castellano are in charge of the prosecution.

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