ROCHESTER, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that James Hardaway, Jr., a/k/a Jabber, 31, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine, was sentenced to 125 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Marangola, who handled the case, stated that Hardaway, his cousin Sekou Howard, and others purchased large quantities of powder cocaine which was then processed into crack cocaine, packaged, and resold in various quantities in Rochester. The defendant and Howard were arrested on January 16, 2014 at 80 Ambrose Street in Rochester after attempting to flee law enforcement officers executing a search warrant at the address. Inside 80 Ambrose Street, officers seized crack cocaine packaged for street sale, paraphernalia for weighing, processing and packaging narcotics, and several rounds of .38 caliber handgun ammunition.

Howard was convicted and sentenced to 168 months in prison.

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation by Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.