Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita  III announced today that 31 year old Tamara Ayende, of 83 Garner St. in the City of Buffalo, pleaded guilty as charged to two counts of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the 3^rd Degree, two counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the 3^rd Degree, and four counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, before State Supreme Court Justice Penny Wolfgang. These are the highest charges for which the defendant could have been convicted had she gone to trial.

On November 13, 2012, Ayende sold heroin, from her home, to an undercover Erie County Sheriff’s Deputy. Ayende did so again on November 14, 2012. Ayende’s young children were removed from the residence and from her custody because of their presence during the narcotics sales, as well as the fact that they were living in squalor.

The case was successfully prosecuted by ADA Mary Beth DePasquale, DA Sedita’s Principal Narcotics Prosecutor and a member of his recently formed Tactical Prosecution Unit. DA Sedita praised her efforts, as well as those of the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, stating: “Because of the professional manner in which they handled the investigation, the defendant was prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”