Albany County District Attorney Lee C. Kindlon announced today that a 67-year-old man has been sentenced for having an illegal assault rifle inside his home.

Thomas Hardie was sentenced by the Honorable William Little to serve seven years in state prison followed by five years of post-release supervision after pleading guilty to Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree.

On June 13, 2024, just after 9 p.m., parole officers from the NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision conducted a visit with Albany Police at Hardie’s residence on Clinton Avenue.

Inside, police found an operable, semi-automatic Norinco model SKS, similar to an AK-47 assault rifle, affixed with a bayonet mount. A magazine loaded with eight 7.62x39mm bullets was discovered close by.

Hardie was sentenced as a predicate violent felon, as this was his fifth felony conviction and second violent felony within 10 years.

Assistant District Attorney Ryan Carty of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.