A federal jury in Buffalo, New York, has convicted Alphonso Payne, also known as Ajay, of multiple charges including the murder of a federal informant. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo. Payne, 29, was found guilty of conspiracy to murder a federal informant, murdering a federal informant, and various drug-related offenses. These charges come with a mandatory minimum sentence of life imprisonment.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy C. Lynch, Michael J. Adler, and Stacey Jacovetti led the prosecution. They detailed that between 2016 and August 20, 2019, Payne collaborated with co-defendant Gregory Hay and others to distribute cocaine, crack cocaine, and heroin. Initially operating in Salamanca, New York, Hay moved his drug activities to Olean with Payne’s assistance.
On May 7, 2019, after Hay’s residence was searched by law enforcement officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Buffalo Police Department resulting in the seizure of illegal firearms, Hay and Payne suspected Joshua Jalovick of being an informant. On July 1 that year, they lured Jalovick to a backyard where Payne shot him multiple times with a semi-automatic pistol before Hay fired additional shots with a revolver.
The motive for Jalovick’s murder was to prevent him from testifying about their alleged drug trafficking activities and firearm offenses committed by Hay.
Gregory Hay had already been convicted on related charges including narcotics conspiracy and firearm possession linked to drug trafficking crimes; he is awaiting sentencing. Other individuals—Daeshawn Stevenson, Raejah Blackwell, Eric Brooks, and Roland Eady—were also convicted for obstructing a grand jury investigation into Jalovick’s murder.
The investigation leading to these convictions involved several agencies: ATF under Special Agent-in-Charge Bryan Miller; Buffalo Police Department under Commissioner Alphonso Wright; Federal Bureau of Investigation under Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Mark Grimm; U.S. Secret Service under Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Charles Perras; and Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office under Sheriff Eric Butler.
Sentencing for Alphonso Payne is set for October 27 at 11:30 a.m., presided over by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara who oversaw the trial.
