Buffalo Man Arrested On Drug And Gun Charges

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

BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Leon R. Williams, 38, of Buffalo, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with  possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. The charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura A. Higgins, who is handling the case, stated that, according to the complaint, in September 2017, law enforcement officers began investigating the narcotics distributing activities of the defendant. Investigators received information that Williams was distributing heroin from his residence at 37 Texas Street in Buffalo. On November 29, 2017, officers observed the defendant leave his residence and get into his 2007 Audi Q7. Williams traveled north on Bailey Avenue and stopped at a dry cleaner. Upon exiting the business, the defendant was taken into custody.

Subsequently, officers executed a search warrant at 37 Texas Street and recovered multiple small bags containing an off-white substance and a brown powdery substance on the kitchen table. The bags were believed to contain suspected heroin and cocaine. Scales, razor blades and cutting agents were also located in the residence along with a Glock 22, .40 caliber firearm, and a .40 caliber magazine containing 10 rounds of ammunition was loaded inside the firearm. A second high-capacity magazine for a .40 caliber firearm was also seized together with a total of $73,743.00 in cash. 

The defendant made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy and is being held pending a detention hearing on December 4, 2017.

The complaint is plea is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James J. Hunt, 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.