Rochester Man Sentenced on Drug Trafficking Charges

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Tremec Jeffries, 38, of Rochester, N.Y., who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine, was sentenced to 228 months in prison by U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Marangola, who handled the case, stated that Jeffries and others purchased large quantities of powder cocaine that they processed into crack cocaine, packaged, and resold in various quantities in Rochester. Jeffries was arrested on August 1, 2013 after he was surveilled by officers arriving at 35 Wakefield Street in Rochester operating his 2004 Chevrolet Avalanche. The defendant unlocked the location with a key and entered. Officers then raided the location and Jeffries, the only person inside, was arrested after attempting to jump out a second story window.

Inside the residence, officers seized 50 grams of crack cocaine, 31 grams of powder cocaine, processing and packaging paraphernalia, a .12 gauge shotgun, and a loaded, Glock .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol that had been reported stolen out of North Carolina in 2010. Jeffries had $1,640 in U.S. currency on his person and the Avalanche contained $15,000 in U.S. currency bundled in $1,000 increments. The cash has been forfeited by the Drug Enforcement Administration as drug money.

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge, James J. Hunt, New York Field Division, with assistance provided by the Greater Rochester Area Narcotics Enforcement Team (GRANET), and the Rochester Police Department under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli, the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office, under the direction of Sandra Doorley, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge, Thomas J. Cannon, New York Field Division.