Michael Murphy, Methamphetamine Conspiracy, New York 2023

A Jamestown man has pleaded guilty to methamphetamine conspiracy charges in Western New York.

Michael Murphy, 31, of Jamestown, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua A. Violanti, Murphy bought, sold, and distributed quantities of methamphetamine for profit between June 2019 and October 2020.

Law enforcement officers seized 223 grams of methamphetamine and $1,476 in cash from Murphy’s Bishop Street residence in Jamestown in July 2019. A subsequent search warrant at Murphy’s Newland Avenue residence in Jamestown in November 2019 uncovered additional methamphetamine, illicit mushrooms, drug paraphernalia, two firearms, and $1,642 in cash. The investigation also included four controlled purchases of drugs from Murphy.

Co-defendants Rocco Beardsley, Miller Hagga, and Austin Gordon are scheduled for trial on September 6, 2023. Co-defendants Kylie Reeves, Garland Beardsley, Tyler Tedesco, and Giselle Bennett were previously convicted and are awaiting sentencing.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the Jamestown Police Department and the Jamestown Metro Drug Task Force, under the direction of Jamestown Police Chief Timothy Jackson; the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Frank A. Tarentino III, New York Field Division; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito, New York Field Division, and the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff James Quattrone.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 17, 2023, before Judge Arcara.

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