Orleans County Man Indicted on Drug and Gun Charges

         BUFFALO, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a grand jury has handed down a four count indictment charging Allen M. Young, 37, of Barker, N.Y., with possession with intent to distribute and distribution of methylone, a Schedule I controlled substance, conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, and being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both.

            Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank T. Pimentel, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment and the criminal complaint that preceded it, between December 1, 2012, and February 14, 2013, the defendant conspired with others to obtain and sell methylone in Western New York. On December 13, 2012, while members of the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force were attempting to execute a search warrant on Young and his car, he fled at a high rate of speed before crashing the car in Ridgeway, N.Y.  The defendant fled the scene on foot, and nine rounds of .50 caliber ammunition were found in the car.  Two days later, a backpack, later identified as Young's and containing 1.8 pounds of methylone, was found abandoned in the woods near the scene of the crash.

            Young was subsequently arrested in Erie, Pennsylvania, on February 14, 2013, and has been in custody ever since. The defendant, who was convicted of a felony offense in Orleans County in 2009, was also charged with possessing seven firearms and the aforementioned .50 caliber ammunition between January 1, 2011, and April 5, 2013, and with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, also on December 13, 2012. 

The indictment is the result of an investigation on the part of the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force, under the direction of District Attorney Joseph Cardone and Sheriff Scott D. Hess, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Brian R. Crowell, Special Agent in Charge, 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.