Buffalo Man Arrested On Drug And Gun Charges

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y.- Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Antwone K. Dean, 36, of Buffalo, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and butyryl fentanyl, possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and possession of firearm and ammunition by convicted felon. The charges carry a minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of life and a $1,000,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Wei Xiang, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, on November 22, 2016, New York State parole officers visited Dean’s residence on East Eagle Street for inspection. Inside, they found the defendant, a loaded .45 caliber pistol, and a bag of approximately 56 grams of powder containing fentanyl and butyryl fentanyl. Dean is on parole for a 2001 manslaughter conviction and is legally prohibited from possessing a gun.  

The defendant was ordered detained today by U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr., and returned to state custody on a parole violation.

The criminal complaint is the result of an investigation by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, under the direction of Acting Commissioner Anthony J. Annucci; the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda; the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of James J. Hunt, Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Field Division; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ashan Benedict, New York Field Division.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.