A major drug trafficking case tied to cocaine possession and distribution ended this week with a lengthy prison sentence for an Ithaca man, authorities said.
38-year-old Zachary Jackson of Ithaca was sentenced Tuesday in Cayuga County Court to 15 years in state prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision, according to the Cayuga County District Attorney’s Office.
The sentence stems from a November incident in the City of Auburn. Jackson admitted during court proceedings that he possessed more than four ounces of cocaine on Nov. 19 when law enforcement executed a search warrant on him and his vehicle.
A second search warrant executed the same day at Jackson’s Ithaca residence uncovered about a kilogram of cocaine and a Glock handgun, according to prosecutors.
Jackson earlier pleaded guilty on Aug. 27 to one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the second degree, a class A-II felony. Prosecutors said he was sentenced as a predicate violent felony offender because of a prior conviction.
Jackson was previously convicted of first-degree assault in Onondaga County in September 2007, a case that also resulted in a 15-year sentence, authorities said.
As part of Tuesday’s sentencing, Jackson forfeited $37,134 recovered during the searches.
The investigation was led by the Finger Lakes Drug Task Force with assistance from Auburn police, the New York State Police, the Cayuga County Sheriff’s Office, Ithaca police and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
