STAFF REPORTS
BUFFALO — Mark Ramos, 31, of San Antonio, Texas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and distribution of, more than 500 grams of cocaine before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years, and a fine of $5,000,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura A. Higgins, who is handling the case, stated that between May 2016 and June 1, 2016, the defendant conspired with co-defendants Jabriel Crews, Charles Gonzalez, and others, to take delivery of cocaine sent through the U.S. mail, and to distribute it in the Buffalo area.
On June 1, 2016, Ramos drove a rented vehicle to the parking lot of a retail store in Cheektowaga, and parked next to a car driven by Charles Gonzalez. After a brief meeting in Gonzalez’s vehicle, Gonzalez removed a package containing cocaine from the trunk and gave it to the defendant, who then placed in the trunk of his vehicle. Upon executing a search warrant on the vehicle, officers recovered two bricks of cocaine inside of a U.S. postal parcel addressed to Charles Gonzalez.
Charles Gonzalez was charged and convicted in state court. Federal charges are pending against Jabriel Crews. 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 James J. Hunt, New York Field Division, and the Erie County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Timothy Howard.
Sentencing is scheduled for January.
