Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

BUFFALO, N.Y.- Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Rasheen Newkirk, 42, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of possession with intent to distribute heroin and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, was sentenced to 151 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Wei Xiang and Patricia Astorga, who handled the case, stated that on December 11, 2013, Newkirk was arrested by Drug Enforcement Administration special agents in Buffalo. The defendant was identified through an investigative lead that was developed by DEA agents in Ohio, where a Chicago-based courier transporting a load of heroin was intercepted by an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper.

A search of Newkirk’s house in Buffalo yielded, among other evidence, a quantity of heroin, 205 glassine envelopes, and a loaded Glock handgun. The defendant served a 112-month sentence for a previous federal firearm conviction and was prohibited from legally possessing any firearm and ammunition.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration Resident Offices in Buffalo, Toledo, Ohio, and Chicago, Illinois, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ashan Benedict, and the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

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