Timothy Granison, estranged husband of former mayor Lovely Warren, gets 32 months for drug crimes

A federal judge Tuesday sentenced Timothy Granison, the estranged husband of former Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren, to 32 months in prison for his role in a local drug-trafficking network.

There has been no evidence that Warren, who lost her mayoral re-election bid last year, was aware of the drug dealings of Granison. Warren is related to Jason Siplin, a ringleader of the trafficking network and a local resident with an ample history of narcotics sales.

The relationship between Siplin and Granison appears to have been Granison's entry into the trafficking ring.

While Warren may have been unaware of her husband's crimes, it was the 2021 search of their shared city home that added more baggage for her to carry during a re-election campaign. She was charged herself with the illegal possession of a firearm, found in the home during the search, and the two were accused of endangering the welfare of their daughter, who is now 12.

Those charges were dropped against Warren in exchange for a misdemeanor plea to campaign financing violations. She also agreed to step down from office before her term ended last year.

Granison was also accused of illegal possession of firearms and was acquitted at a trial in state court in July. He was convicted of a misdemeanor child endangerment charge. There was no proof that Granison sold drugs from the home.

Federal sentencing recommendations called for a sentence of 30 to 37 months for Granison for the drug crimes.

His attorney, John DeMarco, argued in court papers that Granison was among the least-involved of multiple people accused of roles in the drug network and that Granison's only other offense was as the driver of a getaway car in a robbery when Granison was a teenager. Granison was judged to be a youthful offender then, so that incident did not become a criminal record.

"Mr. Granison from the outset has accepted responsibility for poor choices he made during a relatively short window of time in 2021," DeMarco said Tuesday. "Since his arrest, he has remained employed, engaged in church and voluntarily underwent drug rehabilitation treatment, all in an effort, such that upon release, he has positioned himself for reunification with his family, his number one priority."

Contact Gary Craig at gcraig@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at gcraig1. 

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Timothy Granison, estranged husband of Lovely Warren, sentenced to 32 months