Brandon Blackshear, Narcotics Conspiracy, New York 2019

Buffalo, NY – A 35-year-old man from Olean, NY, has been arrested and charged with narcotics conspiracy in a case connected to the Seneca Allegany Indian Reservation.

Brandon Blackshear, 35, of Olean, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, crack cocaine and fentanyl.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. Blackshear made initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroder and is being held pending a detention hearing on July 19, 2019.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua A. Violanti, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, on January 2, 2019, members of the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force made a controlled purchase of crack cocaine from the defendant and a co-conspirator. On January 22, 2019, the task force made a second controlled purchase of crack cocaine as well as heroin from Blackshear and a co-conspirator.

In a separate case, Christopher T. Dupont, 32, of Salamanca, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, butyryl fentanyl. That charge also carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.

AUSA Violanti stated that according to the complaint against Dupont, since July of 2018, the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force has been conducting an investigation into the distribution of heroin in and around Salamanca, NY. That investigation identified the defendant as a distributor of heroin in and around Salamanca. During the course of the investigation, investigators conducted controlled purchases of butyryl fentanyl from Dupont on July 11 and August 29, 2018.

This Office takes seriously our federal trust responsibility and obligation to pursue justice in Indian Country and to work diligently to increase public safety and the quality of lives in tribal communities.

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