The investigation into a drug ring in Jamestown is now spreading to Rochester with new charges against a pair of Rochester residents. .

U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo recently announced a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging Quentin L. Yancey a/k/a Q, 39, and Johnny B. Mays a/k/a Blaze, 41, both of Rochester, with narcotics conspiracy.

The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life. In addition, Yancey is charged with using and maintaining a drug-involved premises and six counts of money laundering.

According to the superseding indictment, between 2018, and May 26, 2022, Yancey and Mays allegedly conspired with Joseph S. Zaso and others, to sell heroin and fentanyl in the Rochester area. The superseding indictment further states that Yancey utilized two Lyell Avenue residences in Rochester to conduct his drug trafficking activities. In addition, between June and September 2021, Yancey is accused of making three deposits totaling $42,910 into a federal credit union account in the name of a property management company to conceal the proceeds of his drug trafficking activities.

Investigations into Zaso’s drug ring in the Jamestown area resulted in charges against 21 people ranging from Jamestown, Buffalo, Rochester, Binghamton (who was living in Georgia when he was charged) and Olean. Mays was indicted in June 2025 on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, one kilogram or more heroin, 400 grams or more of fentanyl, and five kilograms or more of cocaine. Police allege in the indictment that Mays conspired with Zaso, Yancey and others to sell heroin and fentanyl in the Rochester area. Zaso was previously charged and convicted and is awaiting sentencing. Yancey and Mays were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder Jr. and were detained after the superseding indictment was handed up by the grand jury.

The charges against Yancey and Mays are part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The task force 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. The task force’s Buffalo operation comprises agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, Department of Homeland Security Emergency Removal Operations, Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Diplomatic Security Service, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua A. Violanti and Louis A. Testani. The superseding indictment is the result of an investigation by the Jamestown Police Department, under the direction of Chief Scott Forster, the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Farhana Islam, New York Field Division, and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Harry T. Chavis, Jr.

Another man involved in the Zaso drug ring Jeryel Winfield, 52, of Binghamton, pleaded guilty recently before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to narcotics conspiracy, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, and a maximum of 40 years.

Between 2019 and May 26, 2022, Winfield conspired with Joseph S. Zaso and others to sell heroin. Winfield was a source of supply for and associate of Joseph Zaso. Winfield distributed quantities of heroin and cocaine to Zaso. He also utilized Cash App and Facebook to facilitate his drug trafficking activities. Winfield admits that he received proceeds from his involvement in the drug conspiracy.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua A. Violanti. The plea 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 Farhana Islam, New York Field Division, and the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff James Quattrone.

Sentencing is scheduled for September 23, 2026, before Judge Arcara.

Zaso, also known as Joey Cracks, was first federally indicted on June 7, 2022, with using and maintaining a drug-involved premises and distribution of fentanyl. He is still awaiting sentencing after previously pleading guilty, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The original indictment said that between September 2018 and May 2022, Zaso and Denver Komenda conspired to possess and sell heroin and fentanyl. Zaso is also accused of using a residence on Locust Street in Jamestown to conduct drug trafficking activities, including the distribution of large quantities of heroin and fentanyl. At the time Zaso had been on supervised release after being sentenced to 60 months in a federal prison after pleading to a federal drug charge in Michigan. The supervised release was transferred to the Western District of New York. In addition to the 2015 federal drug charge in Michigan Zaso had several arrests and multiple felony convictions that included two drug-related felonies, according to a 2022 federal court decision that allowed the government to incarcerate Zaso while awaiting trial on his Jamestown charges.

Additional charges against Zaso were announced in November 2023 that include brandishing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and document concealment of material fact, for allegedly lying on his monthly probation reports while under the supervision of U.S. Probation. Prosecutors added a second Jamestown address to the previous 12 Locust St. address in the first indictment, with an address on Fairview Avenue also used for drug trafficking.