DNA on bag containing 9mm helps convict Spring Valley man already on parole for gun felony
NEW CITY, NY – A Spring Valley man who bolted from a traffic stop while on parole for an earlier felony gun conviction left behind a loaded 9mm in a bag bearing his DNA, a chain of evidence that has now landed him nine years in state prison.
Keimoni Spinks, 27, was sentenced Wednesday in Rockland County Court by Judge Kevin F. Russo, according to Rockland County District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh II.
Spinks was convicted Jan. 20 of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon following a five-day bench trial.
Russo sentenced Spinks to nine years in state prison on the second-degree weapon count, followed by five years of post-release supervision.
He also received a sentence of 3½ to seven years on the third-degree weapon count. The sentences will run concurrently.
The case began at approximately 11:45 a.m. July 29, 2024, when a Ramapo police officer stopped a vehicle for excessively tinted windows.
Spinks was sitting in the front passenger seat, prosecutors said.
While the driver remained at the scene, Spinks got out and fled on foot.
Police subsequently searched the vehicle and found a 9mm semi-automatic pistol inside a bag on the floor of the front passenger area.
The handgun was loaded with seven rounds of ammunition, including one in the chamber, according to prosecutors.
Surveillance video captured Spinks fleeing from the vehicle, and a Spring Valley police officer identified him.
At the time, Spinks was on parole for a 2018 felony conviction in Orange County for second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
He had received a six-year prison sentence in that case on June 14, 2018, and was released to parole on May 28, 2024.
The Rockland County case unfolded just over two months after that parole release.
Spinks was later apprehended at a hotel in Spring Valley.
Prosecutors said forensic evidence subsequently confirmed Spinks’ DNA was on the bag containing the loaded firearm.
The investigation involved the Ramapo Police Department and Spring Valley Police Department, with assistance from the Rockland County Sheriff’s Office and New York State Police Forensic Investigation Center.
Key Points
- Keimoni Spinks, 27, was sentenced to nine years in state prison following convictions on two felony gun possession charges.
- Prosecutors said Spinks fled a 2024 traffic stop while officers later recovered a loaded 9mm from a bag on the front passenger-side floor.
- Spinks’ DNA was found on the bag, and he was on parole for an earlier felony gun conviction when the traffic stop occurred.
