Local authorities scored big during a raid of two Buffalo homes Thursday.They say narcotics and Homeland Security officers found buckets of marijuana - totaling about 100 pounds - loaded handguns, and a large scale at 42 and 44 Thatcher Avenue in the Lasalle section of the city. As the investigation continued, authorities say they also discovered Nkomo Hepburn and Michelle Palmer, 41, were in the United States illegally and at least one had been previously deported to Jamaica.
Hepburn was charged with criminal possession of a handgun. Palmer and another suspect - Sanjay Cousins, 25, - were both charged with felony drug and misdemeanor firearm charges. After the criminal charges are handled, Hepburn and Palmer will also face federal charges and deportation proceedings.
The three Buffalo residents are in the Erie County Holding Center pending arraignment Friday.
