WNY News Now

Buffalo Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Cocaine Possession with Intent to Sell

Deron Rhone receives state prison term following 2024 traffic stop that led to seizure of several ounces of cocaine.

(WNY News Now) – BUFFALO, N.Y. — Michael J. Keane announced that Deron Rhone, 30, of Buffalo, was sentenced to 10 years in state prison before Susan Eagan in Erie County Court for possession of cocaine with intent to sell.

Rhone was sentenced to a determinate term of 10 years in state prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision.

According to the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, the charges stem from a traffic stop conducted on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, at approximately 5 p.m. Deputies with the Erie County Sheriff’s Office stopped Rhone after observing him fail to stop at a stop sign at the intersection of Berkshire Avenue and Parkridge Avenue in the City of Buffalo.

Deputies determined that Rhone was operating the vehicle with a learner driver permit and that the pickup truck he was driving had a suspended registration. The vehicle was impounded.

During an inventory search of the pickup truck, deputies located a plastic bag containing several ounces of suspected cocaine inside a bucket in the truck bed. While placing Rhone under arrest, a deputy recovered a digital scale with white residue from his pocket.

The Erie County Central Police Services Forensic Laboratory later confirmed that the powder in the bag and the residue on the scale tested positive for cocaine.

In January 2026, Rhone pleaded guilty to one count of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree, a Class A-I felony, and one count of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a Class B felony. He entered guilty pleas to all counts in the indictment as his jury trial was scheduled to begin.

District Attorney Keane commended Deputy Salvatore Vaccaro and Deputy Jackie Feggans of the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the Erie County Central Police Services Forensic Laboratory, for their work in the investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Anthony F. Perna of the Narcotics/Intelligence Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Jamie E. Englerth of the Special Victims Unit.