Brothers sentenced after investigation stemming from murder of RPD Officer Mazurkewicz

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Two brothers from Rochester were sentenced, one for attempted robbery and another on illegal gun charges, after an investigation stemming from the murder of Rochester Police Officer Tony Mazurkewicz.

James Fulton, 41, was sentenced for attempting to rob a local drug dealer. He will serve 8 years and nine months in prison. His brother, 39-year-old Preston Fulton, was sentenced for hiding a gun for an alleged associate of Kelvin Vickers, man convicted of killing Officer Mazurkewicz. Preston will serve a year and a half in prison.

A jury found Vickers guilty of carrying out an ambush that killed Mazurkewicz and wounded his partner Officer Seng on Bauman Street in July 2022 while they were working undercover in their minivan. The murder led to an investigation into several alleged associates of Vickers.

On Sept. 20, 2022, investigators stopped a car driven by James Fulton as he was leaving his Gothic Street home. Investigators say they found two guns and ammunition in the car, along with items commonly used during robberies including roll of duct tape, zip ties fashioned into restraints, a pry bar, and a black ski mask. During his plea, James admitted that he intended to rob a drug dealer.

Investigators say that Preston Fulton was given a gun to hide for Brandon Washington, one of the alleged ring leaders in a marijuana drug war that Vickers was involved with, on Oct. 1, 2022. After receiving the gun, investigators followed Fulton as he brought he gun into his home on Ferncliffe Drive. Authorities searched the home with a warrant the next day and say they found a loaded semi-automatic handgun.

The Rochester Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration collaborated on the investigation. Charges are still pending against Washington.