Lockport Man Sentenced on Drug Charges

          BUFFALO, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Damian Ard, 33, of Lockport, N.Y., who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, cocaine base, was sentenced to six years in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Catherine Baumgarten, who handled the case, stated that the defendant was arrested as a result of a long-term investigation into narcotics trafficking in Niagara County and the City of Buffalo conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Niagara County Drug Taskforce. The investigation involved several court-authorized wiretaps, including  two cellular telephones used by Ard to conduct his drug-trafficking. The defendant distributed cocaine base, cocaine, heroin, prescription medications, and marijuana in the Lockport area from early 2009 through August 2010, some of which was supplied to him by co-defendant Eric Williams.

During the execution of a federal search warrant at Ard’s residence on August 17, 2010, law enforcement officers seized a Remington Model 597 rifle, two .22 caliber rifle magazines and a .22 caliber high capacity magazine; a RML 7.62 x 39 caliber semi-automatic rifle, two magazines and ammunition; a New England Firearms Pardner Model SBI 20 gauge shotgun, and ammunition.

In total, investigators charged 24 defendants in connection with this investigation, 23 of whom have been convicted. The leader of the narcotics trafficking operation, Will Johnson, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on September 13, 2013.

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation by Task Force Officers and Special Agents of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Brian R. Crowell, Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division, and the Niagara County Sheriff’s Drug Task Force, under the direction of Sheriff James Votour.