A Fredonia resident has been charged in connection with the 2022 overdose death of an individual in Celoron.

U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced Wednesday that John Wallace Buchanan, 36, was charged by criminal complaint with the distribution of fentanyl causing death, narcotics conspiracy, and possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 25 years in prison and a maximum of life.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua A. Violanti, who is handling the case, stated that in the early morning hours of Jan. 10, 2022, the Ellicott Police Department responded to a residence on Boulevard Avenue in Celoron for a death investigation. At the scene, law enforcement found an individual, who was not identified, lying face down on the living room floor with signs of drug use nearby. The cause of death was listed as a potential overdose.

A review of the contents of the deceased individual’s cell phone identified a Facebook Messenger conversation with the account of John Buchanan. Investigators subsequently identified multiple Facebook conversations, with the individual wanting to purchase narcotic drugs from Buchanan, dating back to November of 2021, including a conversation just prior to the death. Investigators also noted that following a review of Buchanan’s Facebook account, some messages between the victim and Buchanan may have been deleted from Buchanan’s account. At the scene of the death, officers recovered, among other things, ammunition and three firearms. Investigators learned that Buchanan was attempting to sell firearms to the victim in December 2021. Investigators believe that the victim and Buchanan also discussed firearms transactions in the conversation prior to B.G. death.

Buchanan was ordered detained following a detention hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces operation. It identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the Task Forces Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The complaint is the result of an investigation by the Jamestown Police Department, under the direction of Chief Timothy Jackson, the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Frank A. Tarentino III, New York Field Division, the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff James Quattrone, and the Ellicott Police Department, under the direction of Chief William Ohnmeiss Jr.