Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 39-year-old Willie Loyd of Buffalo was arraigned on March 8 before State Supreme Court Justice Christopher J. Burns on four counts each of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, class B felonies. Loyd was remanded to the custody of the Erie County Sheriff’s Office. A return court date has not been scheduled.

Loyd was also arraigned on March 11 before Buffalo City Court Judge Betty Calvo-Torres on one count each of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree, a class A-1 felony, and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a class B felony. No bail was set by Judge Calvo-Torres.  Loyd is scheduled to return to court on Thursday, March 14 at 9:30 a.m., for a felony hearing.

It is alleged that between November 3, 2018, and January 25, 2019, Loyd sold fentanyl to an undercover officer four times. It is further alleged that on March 7, 2019, the Erie County Sheriff’s Narcotics Unit executed a search warrant on a vehicle on Zenner Street and recovered an additional quantity of suspected fentanyl for which Loyd was charged. According to the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, the suspected fentanyl weighed approximately 600 grams. This is one of the largest fentanyl cases handled by the District Attorney’s Office.

If convicted on all charges, Loyd faces up to 30 years in prison.

DA Flynn commends the Erie County Sheriff’s Narcotics Unit for their great work on this investigation.

Paul J. Williams, III, Chief of the DA’s Narcotics Bureau is prosecuting the case.

As are all persons accused of a crime, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.