6 arrested following seizure of over 300 lbs. of cannabis

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- Six people were arrested and more than 300 pounds of cannabis, nearly $100,000 in cash, and multiple weapons were seized as part of a long-term investigation, the Erie County Sheriff's Office announced Friday.

Jimmy Valentine, 36, of Cheektowaga, Karon McDuffie, 33, of Amherst, Shanaya Hill, 33, of Buffalo, LaAndrea Owens, 31, of Lackawanna, Darreionna Johnson, 22, of Buffalo and Kevin Carr, Jr., 30, of Buffalo are all facing multiple charges.

"This is great collaboration and great teamwork," said Erie County District Attorney Michael Keane. "I'm continually impressed with the way that our law enforcement partners in this community work so well together. Obviously, there's a ton of marijuana here, there's a lot of cash here and there's a lot of guns -- all of which have been removed from our streets, which makes our community safer."

Valentine is facing three felony charges: criminal possession of a weapon, defacement of a weapon, and criminal possession of cannabis greater than 10 pounds. The others are all facing criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of cannabis charges.

All six had bail set, posted, and were released. Valentine is scheduled to be back in court March 4 while the other five are expected to return Feb. 11.