BUFFALO – U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross has announced that Samuel L. Arrington III, 41, of Jamestown, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, and being a felon in possession of firearms. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years, and a $5 million fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Louis A. Testani, who is handling the case, stated that on Oct. 12, 2023, New York State Parole Officers conducted a search of Arrington’s Jamestown residence, during which they recovered suspected narcotics, including 105 grams of cocaine, 68 grams of fentanyl, two firearms, ammunition, five cell phones, $2,301 in cash, and drug paraphernalia. The fentanyl was found concealed beneath Arrington’s infant child. In April 2006 and December 2019, Arrington was convicted of drug felonies in Chautauqua County Court, and in Erie County, Pennsylvania Court, and is legally prohibited from possessing firearms.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Frank Tarentino, III, New York Field Division, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Bryan Miller, Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Field Division, the Jamestown Metro Drug Task Force, under the direction of Jamestown Police Chief Timothy Jackson, the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff James Quattrone, and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 11, 2024, before Judge Arcara.