BUFFALO – A Jamestown man plead guilty Wednesday in front of U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Ernest C. Cauley, Jr., 27, faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years, and a fine of $5 million.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul C. Parisi, who is handling the case, stated that between Mar. 2017 and Nov. 2017, Cauley conspired with co-defendant Zakiel Fields, and others, to sell methamphetamine in the Jamestown area. Cauley and Fields were reportedly the main suppliers of methamphetamine to a drug trafficking organization that was being investigated by the FBI and the Jamestown Metro Drug Task Force (JMDTF).
On Apr. 26, 2017, Cauley reportedly met with an individual working with the task force and exchanged methamphetamine for $120 in cash. Cauley and Fields were subsequently arrested on Nov. 6, 2017, following a drug transaction during which Cauley and Field received a quantity of methamphetamine.
Cauley and Fields, driving in separate cars, were pulled over by police and arrested. A total of two pounds of methamphetamine was found in the car in which Fields was riding.
Fields, Jr. was previously convicted and is awaiting sentencing.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert, and the Jamestown Police Department, under the direction of Chief Harry Snellings.
Cauley is scheduled to be sentenced on Jul. 2 at 9:30 am before Judge Vilardo.
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