Bailey Boys Gang Associate Pleads Guilty To Drug Conspiracy

BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Demetrius Black, 41, of Buffalo, New York, pleaded guilty before Senior U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years, and a fine of $1,000,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. Felicetta, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant was an associate of the Bailey Boys Gang, a violent criminal gang which operates in an area of the City of Buffalo bounded by Winspear Avenue, the Kensington Expressway, Eggert Road and Main Street. Between 2010 and late 2011, Black allowed gang member Kenneth Pettway, Jr., and others, to sell crack cocaine and heroin from an apartment he rented on Roosevelt Avenue in Buffalo. The defendant himself also obtained and distributed significant quantities of crack cocaine to others.

On January 18, 2012, a search warrant executed at Black’s residence on Roosevelt Avenue. Law enforcement officers seized heroin, cocaine, marijuana, scales, baggies, and other drug paraphernalia. The defendant was present when the search warrant was executed and admitted that he possessed two pistols at the time.

Charges remain pending against Kenneth Pettway, Jr. who is scheduled to go to trial on May 22, 2018, also before Judge Skretny. 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.

  Black’s plea is the result of an ongoing investigation into the activities of the Bailey Boys Gang and other criminal gangs that is being conducted by the United States Attorney’s office in close cooperation with the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, under the direction of District Attorney John J. Flynn; and in conjunction with the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood; the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force, under the Direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert; the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of  Sheriff Timothy Howard; and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James J. Hunt.

Sentencing is scheduled for August 15, 2018, at 11:00 a.m. before Judge Skretny.