United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Drug Enforcement Administration New York Enforcement Division Special Agent in Charge Farhana Islam and Western District of New York U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Ruben Medina, 20, of Jamestown, NY, who was convicted of possession with intent to distribute five grams or more methamphetamine, was sentenced to serve 84 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. 

On September 11, 2024, Medina was pulled over by a Jamestown Police officer because of an outstanding probation warrant. Initially, he refused to exit the vehicle but later complied and was taken into custody. A search of Medina recovered approximately 109 grams of methamphetamine. Previously, on June 25, 2024, a search warrant was executed at a Newland Avenue residence associated with Medina. Investigators seized cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, p-fluorofentanyl, suboxone strips, $200 cash, a digital scale, and a firearm. 

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Buffalo comprises agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, Department of Homeland Security Emergency Removal Operations, Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Diplomatic Security Service, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua A. Violanti. The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Farhana Islam, New York Field Division, and the Jamestown Police Department, under the direction of Chief Scott Forster.