DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Western District of New York

For Immediate Release

Friday, March 26, 2021
James P. Kennedy, Jr.
, United States Attorney
Contact: Barbara Burns

Buffalo Man Pleads Guilty to Drug and Gun Charge Following Traffic Accident

BUFFALO, N.Y.- U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Jarmaine Dunbar, 43, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of life, and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Douglas A. C. Penrose and David J. Rudroff, who are handling the case, stated that on October 10, 2020, the defendant was involved in a traffic accident at Leroy Avenue and Holden Street in Buffalo. When officers arrived on the scene, they observed a loaded, semi-automatic pistol on the front passenger seat of Dunbar’s car. When patting down the defendant, officers also retrieved a plastic bag containing cocaine.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Byron Lockwood and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito, New York Field Division.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 15, 2021, before Judge Sinatra.

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New York Field Division