Pennsylvania Man Pleads Guilty To Meth Charge

BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Jerry J. Roneker, Jr., 43, of Correy, PA, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to possessing with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life, and a $10,000,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Misha A. Coulson, who is handling the case, stated that on March 9, 2019, while on routine patrol in the Town of Chautauqua, Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Deputies observed the defendant’s vehicle, bearing Pennsylvania license plates, cross the center line of the road. After conducting a traffic stop, deputies observed a smoking pipe in the front of the vehicle. Deputies asked Roneker and a passenger to exit the vehicle at which time they noticed two large chunks of suspected methamphetamine. During a pat down of the defendant, deputies located a loaded 9mm handgun. In addition, deputies recovered $10,210 in U.S. currency, suspected ecstasy pills, packaging materials, a digital scale, drug paraphernalia, Xanax pills, MDMA pills, Suboxone strips, and two hypodermic needles, from the vehicle.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff James Quattrone, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ray Donovan, New York Field Division.