Buffalo Man Sentenced On Cocaine Charge

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

BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Derek McQuiller, 42, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted following a jury trial of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, was sentenced to 60 months in prison by Lawrence J. Vilardo. The defendant faced, and the Government advocated for, a sentence of 262 to 327 months in prison, a sentence which was recommended under federal sentencing guidelines. 

  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward H. White and Stephanie O. Lamarque, who handled the prosecution of the case, stated that during a traffic stop on April 22, 2015, the defendant threw a plastic bag out of the passenger window. The bag was recovered and found to contain 10 individually wrapped baggies of cocaine. McQuiller threw another plastic bag out of the driver’s side window. That bag was recovered and found to contain marijuana. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, another baggie of cocaine was discovered under the passenger floor mat. 
  The defendant was transported to the Town of Tonawanda Police Station and three additional baggies of cocaine were found later that night under the bench where McQuiller had been booked. The defendant also was alleged to have given a baggie of cocaine to a female acquaintance earlier that night in a motel room.
  In addition, a witness for the Government testified at trial that the defendant sold her drugs for three years prior.  
  McQuiller has five prior state and federal convictions, all for drug trafficking offenses.
The sentencing 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 Town of Tonawanda Police Department, under the direction of Chief Jerome C. Uschold III, and the Kenmore Police Department, under the direction of Chief Peter Breitnauer.