Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 45-year-old John A. Gugino of Hamburg pleaded guilty yesterday morning before Hamburg Town Court Justice Gerald P. Gorman to one count of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree (Class “A” misdemeanor). He pleaded guilty to the highest sustainable charge on the morning his non-jury trial was scheduled to begin.
On October 17, 2020, at approximately 10:30 p.m., the defendant was the subject of a search warrant when he was stopped by Erie County Sheriff’s deputy while driving on Milestrip Road in the Town of Hamburg. A small quantity of cocaine was found during a search of the vehicle. The defendant was initially charged with a felony for possession of cocaine, but further testing determined that the weight of the cocaine was a misdemeanor level.
Gugino, who was off-duty at the time of his arrest, was employed as a jail deputy with the Erie County Sheriff’s Office.
Gugino faces a maximum sentence of one year in jail when he is sentenced on Tuesday, July 19, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. He remains released on his own recognizance as the charge is a non-qualifying offense for bail.
