Three Jamestown Residents Indicted For Operating A Methamphetamine Ring

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

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Richard E. Kinsey Jr., 35, Brandi M. Whitford, 23, and Terrence M. McRae, 39, all of Jamestown, NY, with narcotics conspiracy. Defendants Kinsey and Whitford are also charged with using and maintaining a drug-involved premises and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, while defendant McRae is charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life, and a $10,000,000 fine. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua A. Violanti, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment and a previously filed complaint, between September 2019 and October 23, 2019, the defendants conspired to sell methamphetamine in the Jamestown, NY area.

On September 6, 2019, members of the Jamestown Metro Drug Task Force executed a state search warrant at the residence of defendants Kinsey and Whitford. Kinsey and Whitford were home at the time and McRae was also present. As officers entered, McRae was observed exiting the residence to a second story porch roof, where he made a throwing motion. Officers observed a firearm flying through the air from McRae's direction to the ground where it was recovered.

During the search warrant, investigators recovered three additional firearms, eight ounces of suspected methamphetamine throughout the apartment, approximately $11,000 in US currency, assorted ammunition, and drug paraphernalia to include scales and packaging material.

All three defendants have been arraigned and are being detained.

The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ray Donovan, New York Field Division; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito, New York Field Division; and the Jamestown Metro Drug Task Force, under the direction of Jamestown Police Chief Harry Snellings.

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.

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