Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Darmetrius Braggs, 19, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Frank P. Geraci to possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking activity.  The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of life, and a $1,000,000 fine. 

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan T. Cullinane, who is handling the case, stated that Buffalo Police Department officers received information that the defendant robbed an individual at gun point on October 30, 2015, on Blaine Avenue in Buffalo. During the investigation, officers learned that Braggs would be at a party on Freund Avenue in Buffalo on November 7, 2015.

 

On November 7, 2015, undercover officers contacted Braggs by cellular telephone and arranged an undercover purchase of marijuana. The defendant told the officers to meet him near Genesee Street and Freund Avenue in Buffalo to purchase the marijuana.  As officers arrived at the location, Braggs fled on foot and entered 22 Freund Avenue, where officers located the defendant.  Officers also found a cellular telephone and multiple vials of what appeared to be marijuana near the rear entrance of the residence.  In addition, officers also recovered a loaded pistol in the back yard of 22 Freund Avenue.

 

The pistol recovered by officers resembles a firearm the defendant posed with multiple times on social media websites.

 

The plea is the culmination of an investigation by the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Delano A. Reid, New York Field Division.

 

Sentencing is scheduled for December 2, 2016, before Judge Geraci.