Tonawanda Man Pleads Guilty To Drug Possession Near A High School

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

BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that James Nelson, 63, of Tonawanda, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, oxycodone, and hydrocodone within 1,000 feet of a private school. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of one year in prison, a maximum penalty of 40 years, and a $2,000,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura A. Higgins, who is handling the case, stated that on December 11, 2017, investigators with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Town of Tonawanda Police Department executed a state search warrant at the defendant’s residence at 11 Fayette Avenue in Tonawanda. Nelson was found in the living room area of the residence. Investigators recovered suspected crack cocaine, numerous pills containing suspected controlled substances, two compact digital scales, and approximately $1,442 in U.S. currency.

Subsequent testing determined that the substances recovered included crack cocaine, diazepam, oxycodone, butalbital, hydrocodone, and alprazolam.

The defendant’s residence is located within 1,000 feet of St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute, a private secondary school, located at 845 Kenmore Avenue in Buffalo.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the Tonawanda Police Department, under the direction of Chief Jerome Uschold and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ray Donovan, New York Field Division.

Sentencing is scheduled for August 16, 2019, before Judge Arcara.

# # # #