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Buffalo Man Sentenced on Cocaine and Gun Charges
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Ricky Lee Pyzikiewicz, 29, of Buffalo, NY, has been sentenced to 37 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Catherine Baumgarten, who handled the case, law enforcement officers searched Pyzikiewicz’s residence on Maurice Street in Buffalo on November 15, 2010. Officers seized baggies later determined to contain cocaine and marijuana as well as a rifle and ammunition.
The search was part of an ongoing criminal investigation into narcotics trafficking by Pyzikiewicz and co-defendant Ashley Marie Gnocchini, 29, of Cheektowaga, NY. During the morning hours of November 15, 2010, officers had set up an undercover purchase with the defendants. As Pyzikiewicz and Gnocchini drove to the area of Milestrip Road and McKinley Parkway in Hamburg, NY, Orchard Park, NY police officers pulled over the car the two were riding in. Pyzikiewicz appeared to hide something under his seat. A Hamburg Police Department canine unit responded to the scene, and alerted for the presence of narcotics. A subsequent search was conducted and quantities of cocaine were recovered.
Gnocchini was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and was sentenced to 15 months in prison.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction Special Agent in Charge Delano A. Reid, the Orchard Park Police Department, under the direction of Chief Mark Pacholec, and the Hamburg Police Department, under the direction of Chief Gregory Wickett.
Pyzikiewicz’s sentence is a result of his crime, which put the community at risk. ‘This sentence should serve as a warning to those who engage in this type of activity,’ said U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr.
The investigation and sentencing of Pyzikiewicz and Gnocchini demonstrate the commitment of law enforcement to combating narcotics trafficking in Western New York.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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