Binghamton Man Pleads Guilty in Narcotics Conspiracy

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Jeryel Winfield, 52, of Binghamton, pleaded guilty Thursday before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to narcotics conspiracy, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York announced.

Winfield faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum of 40 years under the charge. The plea resolves his role in a broader narcotics conspiracy prosecuted in the Western District.

The guilty plea changes Winfield’s legal status from defendant to convicted felon. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled; once imposed, the mandatory minimum will require at least five years of incarceration before any supervised release or other penalties apply.

Downstream, the conviction requires the Bureau of Prisons to designate a facility for Winfield once sentencing occurs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office must next prepare a presentence investigation report through the U.S. Probation Office, after which Judge Arcara will set a sentencing date.

The plea also advances the larger conspiracy case by removing one defendant from trial dockets and potentially positioning Winfield to provide information or testimony against remaining co-conspirators under standard federal cooperation procedures.

This case forms part of the Justice Department’s ongoing enforcement against narcotics trafficking networks operating in upstate New York. The Western District U.S. Attorney’s Office has brought multiple conspiracy prosecutions in the Buffalo and Binghamton corridors in recent years under 21 U.S.C. § 846, the federal narcotics conspiracy statute that imposes the same penalties as the underlying drug offenses.

Per the Department of Justice announcement, Winfield entered the plea on May 29, 2026.