Zakiel Fields, Methamphetamine Distribution, New York 2018

A Jamestown man has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for his role in a methamphetamine distribution ring in western New York.

Zakiel Fields, 24, was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and failure to appear after pre-trial release, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Western District of New York.

Fields was sentenced to serve 135 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo on November 8, 2018.

The investigation into the methamphetamine distribution ring, which operated in the Jamestown area between March and November 6, 2017, was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert, the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ray Donovan, New York Field Division, and the Jamestown Police Department, under the direction of Chief Harry Snellings.

Fields was arrested on November 6, 2017, after investigators spotted him and co-defendant Ernest Cauley, Jr. enter a residence on E. Summit Avenue in Lakewood, NY. A short time later, Fields and Cauley left the residence with Fields holding a white U.S. Postal Service Priority shipping box. The box contained suspected methamphetamine.

Fields was charged along with 14 other defendants, and is the third defendant to be convicted. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emmanuel Ulubiyo, Patricia Astorga, and Paul Parisi.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdny/pr/jamestown-man-sentenced-his-role-methamphetamine-ring