Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane announces that Deron Rhone, 30, of Buffalo, pleaded guilty on Wednesday morning before Erie County Court Judge Susan Eagan to one count of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree (Class A-I felony) and one count of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree (Class B felony). The defendant entered a guilty plea to all counts in the indictment as his jury trial was scheduled to begin.
On Wednesday, July 31, 2024, at approximately 5:00 p.m., Erie County Sheriff’s Office deputies conducted a traffic stop after observing the defendant fail to stop at a stop sign at the intersection of Berkshire Avenue and Parkridge Avenue in the City of Buffalo. The deputies determined that the defendant was driving without a valid license and operating a pickup truck with a suspended registration. During an inventory search of the impounded vehicle, a plastic bag containing several ounces of suspected cocaine was found inside of a bucket in the bed of the pickup truck. A deputy also recovered a digital scale with white residue from the defendant’s pocket while placing him under arrest. The Erie County Central Police Services Forensic Laboratory determined that the powder inside the bag and the residue on the scale was positive for cocaine.
Rhone faces a maximum of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on Monday, March 2, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. He continues to be remanded pending sentence.
DA Keane commends Deputy Salvatore Vaccaro and Deputy Jackie Feggans of the Erie County Sheriff’s Office as well as the Erie County Central Police Services Forensic Laboratory for their work in this investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Anthony F. Perna of the Narcotics/Intelligence Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Jamie E. Englerth of the Justice Courts Bureau.