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Press Release

Buffalo Man Convicted By A Federal Jury For His Role In Murder Of Three People In Front Of Child Sentenced To Three Consecutive Life Sentences

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of New York

BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Deandre Wilson, 51, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted by a federal jury of multiple charges for his role in a narcotics conspiracy which resulted in a triple homicide, was sentenced to serve three consecutive life sentences plus 30 years by Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford. Following the six-week jury trial, Wilson was convicted of:

  • narcotics conspiracy
  • Hobbs Act robbery
  • murder while engaged in a narcotics conspiracy
  • discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and drug trafficking crimes
  • two counts of discharge of a firearm causing death in furtherance of a crime of violence and drug trafficking crimes
  • conspiracy to obstruct justice
  • two counts of obstruction of justice
  • conspiracy to use fire to commit a felony
  • two counts of use of fire to commit a felony
  • conspiracy to damage and destroy a vehicle used in interstate commerce by fire
  • damaging and destroying a vehicle used in interstate commerce by fire
  • possession with intent to distribute marijuana 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Adler, Maeve E. Huggins, and Joseph M. Tripi, who handled the prosecution of the case, stated that in 2019, Deandre Wilson joined a longstanding narcotics conspiracy with co-defendants Jariel Cobb, James Reed, and others. Wilson, who had only recently been released to New York State parole after serving a lengthy prison term for Murder in the 2nd Degree, entered the conspiracy to obtain kilograms of cocaine and other controlled substances for distribution. In furtherance of the narcotics conspiracy, on September 15, 2019, Cobb arranged a purchase of a kilogram of cocaine from Miguel Anthony Valentin-Colon and Dhamyl Roman-Audiffred, who served as Cobb’s sources of supply. Valentin-Colon, along with his wife. Nicole Marie Merced-Plaud, their minor son, and Roman-Audiffred, arrived in their vehicle, a white minivan, at a residence on Roebling Avenue, as directed by Cobb. Roman-Audiffred exited the van and entered the residence’s kitchen, at which time Wilson hit her in the head with a blunt object and she fell to the floor. Wilson then went outside and shot and killed both Valentin-Colon and Merced Plaud, in the presence of their minor son, who was seated in a child’s car seat. Wilson then drove the minivan and hid it behind a building on Scajaquada Street near Kilhoffer Street in Buffalo.

A short time later, Cobb and Reed moved the body of Dhamyl Roman-Audiffred from the kitchen into the residence’s basement, where Cobb dismembered her body. Cobb placed the body parts into multiple trash bags and placed them into the trunk of his vehicle, and then drove to a residence on Box Avenue, removed the trash bags, and placed them into a burning fire in a fire pit area in the backyard.  Wilson later joined his co-conspirators on Box to assist in the destruction of evidence.

During the early morning hours of September 16, 2019, Wilson and Cobb retrieved the minivan from Scajaquada Street, with the bodies of Miguel Valentin-Colon and Nicole Marie Merced-Plaud still inside, as well as their minor son. Wilson and Cobb drove the minivan to a non-residential area on Tonawanda Street and doused the vehicle and the bodies with gasoline, lighting the vehicle and bodies on fire. They took the minor child and left him on a stranger’s porch on Potomac Avenue in Buffalo.

Jariel Cobb and James Reed were previously convicted and also face a maximum of life when sentenced.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia; the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia; the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff John Garcia; the Erie County Central Police Services Forensic Laboratory, under the direction of Commissioner James Jancewicz.

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Contact

Barbara Burns

716-843-5817

Updated March 23, 2023

Topics
Violent Crime
Drug Trafficking
Firearms Offenses