A Jamestown woman has pleaded guilty to narcotics and firearms charges.

U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced Wednesday that Sabrina Flores, a/k/a Notorious Marie, 25, admitted before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 400 grams or more of fentanyl and being a user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua A. Violanti, who is handling the case, stated that Flores was an associate of Zaid Mendoza, a Jamestown-based drug trafficker, distributing heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine on Mendoza’s behalf. She utilized Facebook to conduct her drug trafficking activities. On Dec. 7, 2022, investigators executed a search warrant at Mendoza’s West main Street residence, seizing $1,800 in cash, 34 grams of fentanyl, 14 grams of methamphetamine, a gram of a combination of fentanyl, cocaine, para-fluorofentanyl, acetyl fentanyl, 4-anilino-N-phenethyl-4-piperidine (ANPP), and methamphetamine, a semi-automatic pistol, and a large capacity magazine. Flores admits that at the time of her possession of the firearm, she was an unlawful and habitual user of fentanyl.

Charges remain pending against Mendoza.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Buffalo/Rochester comprises agents and officers from HSI and the FBI with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York.

The plea is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan, the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff James Quattrone, the Jamestown Police Department, under the direction of former Chief Timothy Jackson and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Farhana Islam, New York Field Division.

Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 11 at 10 a.m. before Sinatra.