Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 30-year-old Marquel Alexander of Buffalo pleaded guilty before State Supreme Court Justice Russell P. Buscaglia to one count of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree, a class “A” felony, and one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class “C” violent felony.  Both counts were the highest possible charges that could have been proven at trial.

On July 18, 2017, narcotics officers from the Lackawanna and Buffalo Police Departments executed a search warrant on Erb Street in Buffalo.  Officers recovered over 11 ounces of cocaine from under the back siding of the residence.  They also recovered a loaded .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol and a digital scale from a garbage tote in the back yard.  Alexander was seen leaving the backyard as officers approached.  Laboratory analysis concluded that Alexander’s DNA was present on the drug packaging as well as the pistol.

Alexander faces a maximum of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on May 16, 2019.

DA Flynn commends the investigative work of the Lackawanna and Buffalo Police Department Narcotics Units.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney James W. Mansour, II of the DA’s Narcotics Unit and Meredith M. Mohun of the Felony Trials Bureau.