Tonawanda Man Cops 15 Years for Guns, Crack, Cocaine

A Tonawanda man is staring down 15 years behind bars after being caught with an arsenal of weapons, crack cocaine, and cash in his home—a stash hidden just feet from his young daughter’s room. Elijah Iverson, 39, was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo following a jury conviction on multiple counts of drug and firearms violations.

Iverson was found guilty of possession with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, maintaining a drug involved premises, possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael P. Felicetta and Joel L. Violanti, who laid out a damning trail of deceit and danger.

The trouble started on October 22, 2014, when Iverson himself called the Tonawanda Police Department, claiming an armed man was trying to break into his Kenmore Avenue apartment. Officers responded, but no intruder was found. When they questioned Iverson, a police canine alerted to narcotics inside the unit. Iverson admitted to having small amounts of marijuana and powder cocaine—then clammed up, refusing a full search.

That refusal bought him only a night. Cops secured a warrant and returned the next day. What they uncovered was a dealer’s operation: an assault weapon, ammunition, a pound of marijuana, and stacks of cash locked in a safe inside his bedroom closet. Even more disturbing—two ounces of crack cocaine and additional rounds of ammunition were found in a bedroom occupied by his young daughter.

For a man already branded a felon, the weapons were illegal on sight. Iverson has three prior felony convictions in state court, making every firearm he possessed a federal crime. Yet he chose to stockpile death and dope under the same roof as a child—proof, prosecutors argued, of utter disregard for the law and human safety.

The takedown was the result of a joint investigation by the Tonawanda Police Department, led by Chief Jerome C. Uschold, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under Special Agent in Charge Ashan M. Benedict, New York Field Division. U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. confirmed the sentencing, calling it a win in the fight against violent drug crime on the streets of Western New York.