Buffalo Man Pleads Guilty To Gun Charges

CONTACT:       Barbara Burns
PHONE:           (716) 843-5817 
FAX:               (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Michael Woods, 25, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and being a felon in possession of a firearm, before Senior U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of life and a $250,000 fine. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy C. Lynch, who is handling the case, stated on March 19, 2012, Woods was riding in a vehicle that Buffalo Police attempted to pull over.  Rather than comply with the police request, the vehicle led the officers were on a pursuit. The defendant eventually got out of the vehicle and threw a .45 caliber gun to the ground while attempting to flee the scene.  A search of the vehicle uncovered crack cocaine in the back seat of the vehicle where the defendant had been sitting before he fled from the vehicle.  As part of his plea, Woods admitted that he possessed the firearm in furtherance of his crack cocaine business.

On May 27, 2013, Buffalo Police again stopped a vehicle Woods was riding in. The defendant got out, threw 9mm gun to the ground and four vials of marijuana while running away from police.  He was later apprehended by police officers after a foot chase.

The plea is the culmination of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 22, 2015 at 11:00 a.m.