BUFFALO, N.Y. — A Buffalo man has been convicted of killing three people during a drug deal in 2019.
A jury found Deandre Wilson guilty of murder in federal court on Thursday for killing the trio who traveled from Florida to Buffalo in 2019.
“I can only say that there's a special place in hell for somebody like this defendant today, and he should rot where he belongs,” Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said.
The bodies of two of the victims, Miguel Anthony Valentin-Colon and Nicole Marie Merced-Plaud, were found in a burned-out van behind a warehouse on Tonawanda Street on Sept. 16, 2019.
The couple's 3-year-old son, Noelvin, was found unharmed that same morning on a porch at a home on Buffalo's west side.
After three years of waiting, a now-6-year-old child left without parents finally got justice.
The crime happened just 11 months after Wilson had been released from prison for a prior second-degree murder conviction.
“This conviction shows our community, our ability and our resolve to ensure that justice is done for victims, their families and communities where these crimes are committed,” U.S. Attorney Trini Ross said.
The case is also memorable because of video surveillance, which appears to have captured the toddler being led away from the burning van by two individuals. Prosecutors said in 2019 that Wilson was one of them; the other was Jariel Cobb.
Remains, later identified as those of Dhamyl Roman-Audiffred, a friend of the couple who traveled with them, were discovered in a fire pit behind a home on Box Avenue.
It is believed that Roman-Audiffred, Valentin-Colon, and Merced-Plaud made the trip to Buffalo to sell cocaine to Wilson and his two accomplices, Cobb and James Reed, but that the two were unaware of Wilson’s intentions to kill.
Both pleaded guilty to narcotics distribution and setting fire to destroy evidence this summer before testifying against Wilson this fall.
“What I can say is that that drug organization has been dismantled, and they were just trafficking enormous amounts quantities of drugs, multiple different types of drugs, heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana that no longer exists,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Adler said.
Narcotics conspiracy, Hobbs Act robbery, murder while engaged in narcotics conspiracy and several firearm chargers are just a few of the 15 counts Wilson was found guilty on and are part of the reason his sentence is still unknown.
He could be facing anywhere from 40 years to life in prison when he is sentenced on March 23.
But regardless of the sentencing, the U.S. Attorney says it’s not enough to make up for the lives lost
“We did what we were able to do — that is to use the justice system to bring the full force of the law upon this and the other defendants in a hope that their convictions for the crimes they committed will allow you and your families to move forward knowing justice has been served,” she said.