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Erie County Sheriff's Office jail deputy fired after guilty plea in connection to drug charges

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Posted at 2:00 PM, Jun 15, 2022
and last updated 2022-06-15 14:51:43-04

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — An Erie County Sheriff's Office jail deputy has been fired after he was arrested and pleaded guilty to drug charges.

The Erie County District Attorney's Office announced that in October 2020 45-year-old John Gugino of Hamburg was stopped by an ECSO deputy while driving on Milestrip Road and a small quantity of cocaine was found during a search of his vehicle.

Gugino was employed as a jail deputy with the sheriff’s office and was off-duty at the time of his arrest.

He pleaded guilty to one count of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance in May 2022.

EDITOR'S NOTE: 7 News has chosen to use Gugino's mugshot in accordance with our station mugshot policy, as he has pleaded guilty. You can read our full mugshot policy here.

The sheriff's office said Gugino was fired on June 10.

Erie County Sheriff John C. Garcia announces that he fired Deputy John Gugino on June 10.

The termination action followed Gugino’s arrest by the Erie County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics and Intelligence Unit in 2020 and subsequent plea for drug-related charges in May 2022.