CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051
BUFFALO, NY – U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Girard Jackson, 28, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of life and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremiah E. Lenihan, who is handling the case, stated that in the early morning hours of June 19, 2021, law enforcement officers encountered Jackson on the 500 block of West State Street in Olean, NY, at which time they executed a search warrant of Jackson for firearms, narcotics, and U.S. currency. Located in a bag Jackson wore around his waist, officers found and seized a loaded Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol. Wrapped around Jackson’s ankle, officers found quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia, the Olean Police Department, under the direction of Chief Ron Richardson, the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force, under the direction of under the direction of the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Timothy Whitcomb, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. DeVito.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 27, 2022, before Judge Vilardo.
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