MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER I. INTRODUCTION On November 16, 2023, Plaintiff the United States of America commenced this action via Verified Complaint for forfeiture in rem seeking forfeiture of assorted pieces of jewelry with a collective appraised value of $39,100.00 as property traceable to the proceeds of offenses in violation of 21 U.S.C. §881(a)(6) (“Defendant Jewelry”) and pursuant to Rule G of the Supplemental Rules for Certain Admiralty or Maritime Claims and Asset Forfeiture Actions (“Supplemental Rules” or “Supp. R.”). See Dkt. No. 1. Presently before the Court is Plaintiff’s Motion for Default Judgment and Final Order of Forfeiture under Rule 55(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and General Order #15 of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. See Dkt. No. 10-1 (“Motion”). For the reasons that follow, Plaintiff’s Motion is granted. II. BACKGROUND A. Plaintiff’s Allegations1 This matter arose in connection with an investigation into a drug trafficking organization (“DTO”) distributing cocaine and pills containing fentanyl. See Dkt. No. 1 7. Starting in or about May 2022, Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) and other federal and local police conducted surveillance on a suspected stash house for the DTO in a second-floor apartment at 1434 Western Avenue, Guilderland, New York. Id. 8. During the surveillance, agents identified various individuals involved in the DTO, including Jabree Jones, who was observed via pole cameras accessing the stash apartment on multiple occasions and was the subject of agent-controlled buys of counterfeit pills and cocaine that tested positive for fentanyl. Id.
9-11.2 As a result, on May 23, 2023, members of various federal and local agencies (assisted by members of the United States Probation Office) conducted a home contact and search of Jones at his residence located at 211 Sacandaga Road, Apartment 8204, Glenville, New York. Id. 13. Jones was present inside the residence at the time, along with his girlfriend, Amirah Barros, and two children. Id. 14. During the search of Jones’s residence, probation officers found and seized (i) $50,000.00 in U.S. currency from the closet of a child’s bedroom; and (ii) the Defendant Jewelry from atop a dresser. Id.
