Probationary Buffalo Police Officer Pleads Guilty
To Drug Charge

     BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that James Hamilton, Jr., 29, of Buffalo, N.Y., pleaded guilty to distribution of marijuana before U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny. The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy C. Lynch, who is handling the case, stated that on November 20, 2013, Hamilton, a probationary Buffalo Police Officer, sold a half pound of marijuana to a confidential source working with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Erie County Sheriff’s Department. At the time of the sale, the defendant possessed his Buffalo Police issued .40 caliber Glock handgun.

Following the sale, the defendant was arrested and a search warrant was executed at his residence at 165 Floss Avenue in Buffalo. During the search, officers seized approximately 80 marijuana plants, three to four pounds of processed marijuana and a shotgun.    

As a result, the defendant no longer works for the Buffalo Police Department.  

Sentencing is scheduled for June 18, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. before Judge Skretny.

The plea is the culmination of an investigation by the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda, the Erie County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy Howard, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Jamie J. Hunt, Acting Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division.