Rochester mayor's husband arrested on felony drug and weapon charges after police search

The mayor of Rochester, New York, is questioning the timing of authorities arresting her husband on felony drug and weapon charges, after he was arrested as part of an ongoing drug investigation this week.

What are the details?

Mayor Lovely Warren's (D) husband, Timothy Granison, emerged as a suspect three months ago in an investigation being conducted by Rochester police and the area's narcotics team, which was launched seven months ago.

Authorities said that once Granison became a target, the part of the probe involving Granison was taken over by State Police "to preserve the integrity of the investigation for obvious reasons," the Democrat & Chronicle reported.

On Wednesday afternoon, State Police pulled Granison over and found cocaine inside his vehicle, and in a following search of the home he shares with Warren, law enforcement discovered an unregistered handgun. A rifle was also seized, but it is unclear if that firearm is illegal.

Bearing Arms noted that just last week, Warren announced a gun buy-back program for the city of Rochester.

"Getting guns off our streets must be our priority," she said in a statement. "We must continue working together with our citizens to take these guns off our streets so our residents can feel safe in their neighborhoods and live the lives they deserve."

Warren's husband was one of seven people charged in the investigation that involved authorities finding more than two kilos of powder and crack cocaine, three firearms and $100,000 cash, according to Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley (R).

Granison "previously served five years probation for a 1997 jewelry store robbery," according to The Daily Caller. He was charged with three felonies in connection with Wednesday's searches: two drug possession charges, and one weapons charge.

What did the mayor say?

The mayor held a news conference Thursday wherein she addressed the charges against her husband, as well as a separate ongoing investigation into her allegedly violating election laws.

Warren, who has served as mayor of Rochester since 2014, distanced herself from her husband, saying that she and Granison had signed a separation agreement years ago but the two had decided to stay together to co-parent their daughter.

The mayor also suggested she was being targeted at this time because it is three weeks before early voting starts in the mayoral election, and after she "announced we were moving forward with reparations and universal basic income."

She declared during the presser, "Some people would do anything to try and break me."