Buffalo Man Sentenced on Drug Charge

BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Demerius Rivera, 33, of Buffalo, N.Y., who was convicted of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, was sentenced to 18 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank T. Pimentel, who handled the case, stated that on June 6, 2012, officers with the Buffalo Police Department Narcotics Unit and the Lancaster Police Department SWAT Team executed a search warrant at 77 Landon Street in Buffalo. During the search, the SWAT Team encountered the defendant in a rear bedroom. Officers found 25 ounces of marijuana packaged for sale in a dresser. Upon questioning, Rivera admitted that the marijuana was his and that there were two guns “under the bed” in the bedroom. Officers recovered two shotguns under the bed, and a third shotgun in the basement.

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge James S. Higgins, New York Field Division, the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda, and the Lancaster Police Department, under the direction of Chief Gerald Gill.