SYRACUSE — New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the indictment of 17 people for their roles in a major drug trafficking network that distributed fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine in Onondaga, Oneida, Madison, Cortland, and Tompkins counties.
An investigation led by the Office of the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force seized more than 23 pounds of fentanyl worth more than $625,000, nearly four pounds of cocaine worth more than $125,000, and more than 12 pounds of methamphetamine worth more than $32,000.
The 23 pounds of fentanyl represents enough to kill one New Yorker every six seconds for an entire year, according to the attorney general’s office.
The investigation also seized more than $880,000 in cash tied to the drug trafficking, as well as three illegal firearms, and two vehicles used to transport and distribute the drugs.
The indictment unsealed Oct. 7 in Onondaga County Court charges the 17 defendants with 125 crimes.
The investigation spanned September through May and uncovered a drug trafficking ring centered around Jaquan Jones, also known as “Flame,” that distributed fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine to customers throughout Central New York.
Jones bought significant quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine from Antonio Sanchez and others, and supplied drugs to a large network of dealers.
Jones would arrange sales over text message, telling his customers to meet at a common location where he would then arrive and sell to them all at once.
The defendants used codewords to refer to the narcotics they were selling, with “soft” referring to cocaine, “fet” or “fetty” referring to fentanyl, and “ice” referring to methamphetamine.
Jones is charged with Operating as a Major Trafficker, which carries a mandatory life sentence in state prison.
The investigation recovered approximately 22 pounds of fentanyl and 12 ounces of cocaine that Jones was storing in a garage attached to a house in Syracuse.
Joshua Stimpson, who is also charged with Operating as a Major Trafficker, worked with his partner, Autumn Schneider, and others to sell the drugs they bought from Jones throughout Oneida and Madison Counties.
The investigation recovered more than five ounces of fentanyl, more than two ounces of cocaine, and five pounds of methamphetamine from their home.
A search of Etiem Berrios’ home led to the seizure of an assault weapon, five extended magazines, approximately half a pound of cocaine, half an ounce of methamphetamine, and hundreds of wax envelopes containing a mix of heroin and fentanyl packaged for street sale.
This takedown marks another major drug bust in the attorney general’s Suburban and Upstate Response to the Growing Epidemic Initiative, a law enforcement effort that brings together state and local law enforcement to target New York’s growing heroin, fentanyl, opioid, and narcotics trafficking networks.
Since launching in 2017, the initiative has taken 1,008 alleged traffickers off the streets.
