Dakota Cordell

A Dunkirk man nabbed a number of times in the north county for having fentanyl has been sentenced to 15 years in state prison by Judge David W. Foley following a violation of probation hearing.

District Attorney Jason Schmidt announced Tuesday that Dakota Cordell, 29, was placed on a five-year term of probation in September following six months of incarceration at the Chautauqua County Jail after being convicted of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance arising from two separate narcotics convictions.

In September 2024, the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force and the Fredonia Police Department executed a search warrant in the village of Fredonia. Cordell, along with two other individuals, were found to be in possession of a large quantity of fentanyl. In May 2025, Cordell was offered a plea agreement to participate in Interim Probation for the opportunity to receive a reduced sentence. Before this sentenced could be imposed, Cordell was again arrested in June 2025 for possessing a large quantity of fentanyl and methamphetamine by the Dunkirk Police Department.

In March, Cordell was arrested again by the Dunkirk Police Department and Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force following the execution of a search warrant in the city of Dunkirk. Cordell, along with three other individuals, were found to be in possession of more than 300 grams of methamphetamine and a firearm. Following this arrest, the Chautauqua County Department of Probation filed a Violation of Probation against Cordell for failing to comply with the terms of his probation. The charges from March are still pending.

The District Attorney would like to thank the Chautauqua County Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force, the Dunkirk Police Department, and the Fredonia Police Department for their work on all three of these cases and the Chautauqua County Department of Probation for their diligent supervision of probationers.