Little Valley man who fled from police following high speed chase arrested, charged with selling cocaine

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Ronald D. Mitchell, 44, of Little Valley, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with possession with intent to distribute cocaine, which carries up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt I. Kass, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, in September of 2025, law enforcement began investigating the drug trafficking activities of Mitchell, who was identified as a distributor of methamphetamine and cocaine in Cattaraugus County. Just after midnight on September 17, 2025, investigators, while surveilling Mitchell in the Village of Little Valley, observed him selling drugs inside his vehicle. A Cattaraugus County Sheriff's deputy subsequently conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle, during which Mitchell appeared very nervous and started to sweat profusely. Mitchell was asked to exit the vehicle, but instead he fled from the scene, leading deputies on a chase, which exceeded 90 MPH. Mitchell eventually crashed his vehicle into a tree in Ellicottville, and fled. Investigators seized 52 grams of cocaine and a large amount of cash from the vehicle. A bag containing a large quantity of suspected narcotics, believed to have been discarded by Mitchell when he fled from the crash, was discovered on Route 242. The bag contained drug paraphernalia, 196 grams of cocaine and 472 grams of crystal methamphetamine.

Mitchell made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr. and was detained.

The complaint is the result of an investigation by the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force, under the direction of Cattaraugus County Sheriff Eric Butler and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Farhana Islam, New York Field Division.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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