Buffalo Woman Arrested, Charged With Distributing Heroin

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

BUFFALO, N.Y. — U. S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Brittaney Ridgeway, 27, of Buffalo, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with distribution of heroin. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy C. Lynch, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, on March 25, 2015, Cheektowaga Police officers recovered bundles of heroin following a traffic stop of a vehicle that the defendant was riding in with her boyfriend Dellsean Hamilton. Analysis determined that some of the heroin contained fentanyl.

Subsequent investigation determined that Hamilton was a large volume heroin supplier in Buffalo and the surrounding area and Ridgeway assisted him in the distribution of the heroin. Hamilton was arrested in December 2015, also on distribution charges. Following Hamilton’s arrest, law enforcement officers learned that Ridgeway continued to distribute heroin. Officers made controlled purchases of heroin from Ridgeway on February 4 and February 11, 2016. 

Ridgeway made an initial appearance this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy and is being detained pending a detention hearing on March 4, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. 
  
The criminal complaint is the culmination of an investigation by the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Zack, the Erie County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy Howard, and 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.