Man pleads guilty to drug possession near a high school
BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr., and DEA New York Division Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan announced today that James Nelson, 63, of Tonawanda, N.Y., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, oxycodone and hydrocodone within 1,000 feet of a private school. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of one year in prison, a maximum penalty of 40 years and a $2,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura A. Higgins, who is handling the case, stated that on Dec. 11, 2017, agents and officers with the DEA and the Town of Tonawanda Police Department executed a state search warrant at the defendant’s residence at 11 Fayette Avenue in Tonawanda. Nelson was found in the living room area of the residence. Investigators recovered suspected crack cocaine, numerous pills containing suspected controlled substances, two compact digital scales and approximately $1,442 in U.S. currency.
Subsequent testing determined that the substances recovered included crack cocaine, diazepam, oxycodone, butalbital, hydrocodone and alprazolam.
The defendant’s residence is located within 1,000 feet of St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute, a private secondary school, located at 845 Kenmore Avenue in Buffalo.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Tonawanda Police Department and the DEA Buffalo Resident Office, New York Division.
Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 16, 2019, before Judge Arcara.
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