BUFFALO – A 47-year-old Village of Fredonia man has plead guilty in connection with a drug trafficking case in Chautauqua County.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Buffalo says Nathaniel Gates Jr. plead guilty to possessing with intent to distribute, and distributing, 28 grams or more of crack cocaine in a federal courtroom on Wednesday.
In April 2015, the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration started investigating suspected drug trafficking activities in Chautauqua County.
During the investigation, prosecutors say police made three controlled purchases of narcotics from Gates. Investigators also executed a search warrant at the defendant’s Brigham Road apartment in Fredonia and recovered illegal narcotics and items commonly used in drug distribution.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force, under the direction of the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Timothy Whitcomb, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ray Donovan, New York Field Division.
The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum of 40 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for March 25, 2021.
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