Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

BUFFALO, N.Y.- Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Antwone K. Dean, 37, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford. The charges carry a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life, and a $1,000,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Wei Xiang, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant is on parole for a 2001 manslaughter conviction. On November 22, 2016, New York State parole officers visited Dean’s residence on East Eagle Street for inspection.  Inside, they found the defendant, a loaded .45 caliber pistol, and a bag of powder containing fentanyl and butyryl fentanyl.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, under the direction of Acting Commissioner Anthony J. Annucci; the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda; the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of James J. Hunt, New Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Field Division; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in- Charge Ashan Benedict, New York Field Division.

Sentencing is scheduled for February 22, 2018, at 4:00 p.m. before Judge Wolford.

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