STAFF REPORTS
ROCHESTER — U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Rayshawn Mullins, 32, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, fentanyl, cocaine, and crack cocaine. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $1,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. McGrath, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant was a member of a drug trafficking organization led by co-defendant Jose Casado. Between December 2017 and May 2019, the organization distributed large quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, and crack cocaine out of drug houses located on Clifford Avenue and Treyer Street in Rochester.
Jose Casado would obtain bulk quantities of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine, and he and other members of the conspiracy would package the substances to be sold to individual drug users. Drug users would contact Jose Casado directly via cellular phone to order quantities of drugs, and Mullins and others would serve as drug runners, delivering the drugs to the customer. On November 28, 2018, the defendant delivered 30 baggies of cocaine and 30 baggies of fentanyl to an undercover law enforcement officer.
On March 14, 2019, a search warrant was executed at the Clifford Avenue residence used by the drug trafficking organization. Investigators recovered 18 baggies of fentanyl, nine baggies of powder cocaine and nine baggies of crack cocaine, as well as numerous materials used to package controlled substances, 1,800 rounds of .22 caliber ammunition, and 50 shotgun shells.
Mullins is one of seven defendants charged in this case; he is the first to be convicted. Charges remain pending against the remaining six defendants. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ray Donovan, New York Field Division; and the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief La’Ron Singletary.
Sentencing is scheduled for November 14, 2019, at 2:30 p.m. before Judge Geraci.