BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced
today that Elijah Iverson, 39, of Tonawanda, NY, who was convicted following a
jury trial of possession with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine,
possession with intent to distribute marijuana, maintaining a drug involved
premises, possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes,
and being a felon in possession of a firearm, was sentenced to 180 months in
prison by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael P. Felicetta and Joel L.
Violanti, who handled the prosecution of the case, stated that on October 22,
2014, the defendant called the Tonawanda, NY Police Department and stated that
an individual with a gun was attempting to get into his Kenmore Avenue
apartment. When officers arrived, there was no sign of the alleged gunman.
Subsequently, officers went into Iverson’s apartment to
speak with him about the incident. As the defendant was talking with officers,
a police canine detected narcotics in the apartment. Iverson admitted to having
a small amount of marijuana and powder cocaine which he surrendered to the
officers but refused a full search of the apartment. As a result, officers
obtained a search warrant and returned the next day.
During the full search, officers recovered an assault
weapon, ammunition, a pound of marijuana and cash in a safe in Iverson’s
bedroom closet. In addition, officers recovered more rounds of ammunition and
approximately two ounces of crack cocaine in a bedroom used by the defendant’s
young daughter.
Iverson has three prior felony convictions in state court
which prevented him from legally possessing firearms.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the
Tonawanda Police Department, under the direction of Chief Jerome C. Uschold and
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of
Special Agent in Charge Ashan M. Benedict, New York Field Division.
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