BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Brandi M. Whitford, 24, of Jamestown, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr. to maintaining a drug-involved premises. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $500,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua A. Violanti, who is handling the case, stated that between September 2019 and Oct. 23, 2019, the defendant and co-defendant Richard E. Kinsey Jr. used a residence on Newland Avenue in Jamestown, to manufacture, distribute, and use methamphetamine. On September 6, 2019, investigators executed a New York State search warrant at the residence, recovering three firearms. A fourth firearm was thrown from the residence during the execution of the search warrant. Investigators also recovered methamphetamine throughout the residence, approximately $12,045 in US currency, assorted ammunition, and drug paraphernalia, including scales and packaging material.
Charges remain pending against defendant Kinsey. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation, and the defendants are 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 Ray Donovan, New York Field Division; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito, New York Field Division; and the Jamestown Metro Drug Task Force, under the direction of Acting Jamestown Police Chief Timothy Jackson.
Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date. #
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
