Kathyln Ventura, Fentanyl Trafficking, NY 2024

A Lockport woman admitted in federal court to trafficking deadly narcotics that culminated in a fatal fentanyl overdose. Kathyln Ventura, 25, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, a charge carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.

The grim timeline began in late December 2014, when Ventura became a key courier for Oliver Kimmons, a man separately indicted on narcotics distribution and human sex trafficking charges. Prosecutors say she drove Kimmons’s vehicle to conduct illicit drug deals across Niagara County, acting as a trusted link in a sprawling distribution network.

On January 21, 2015, Ventura sold crack cocaine to a confidential DEA source. Less than two weeks later, on January 30, she met with a buyer, identified only as H.C., at a Lockport bowling alley and sold additional drugs. Hours after the transaction, H.C. died from a fentanyl overdose—an outcome now tied directly to Ventura’s actions in the eyes of federal law.

Law enforcement closed in on February 12, 2015, when the Niagara County Drug Task Force executed a state search warrant on Kimmons’s vehicle—then being driven by Kimmons with Ventura as a passenger. Officers recovered fentanyl inside the car, leading to the immediate arrest of both individuals.

The case deepened on March 4, 2015, when a DEA confidential source purchased both crack cocaine and heroin directly from Ventura, providing further evidence of her ongoing role in the drug trade. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan A. Tokash, who is prosecuting the case, emphasized the repeated, willful nature of Ventura’s crimes.

Sentencing is set for June 7, 2018, at 11:30 a.m. before Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. Oliver Kimmons remains under indictment; the charges against him are presumed innocent until proven in court. The investigation was led by the DEA, Lockport Police Department, and Niagara County Drug Task Force.