A Dunkirk man with a history of arrests for narcotics possession is headed to state prison for 15 years for a probation violation. Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt says 29-year-old Dakota Cordell was sentenced Tuesday by County Court Judge David Foley following a hearing. The violation resulted from a March arrest at 81 Lincoln Avenue in the city, where Cordell and three others were allegedly found in possession of more than 300 grams of methamphetamine and a firearm.
Schmidt says Cordell was placed on a five-year probation term in September 2025 after serving six months behind bars for a conviction on a charge of 3rd-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance that arose from two separate narcotics investigations. In August 2024, members of the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force and Fredonia Police Department executed a search warrant at 166 Newton Street in the Village of Fredonia, where Cordell and two others were found to be in possession of a large amount of fentanyl. Cordell was offered a plea deal in May 2025 to participate in interim probation for the opportunity to receive a reduced sentence. However, before that sentence could be imposed, Cordell was arrested by the Dunkirk Police Department in June 2025 for possessing a large quantity of fentanyl and methamphetamine. After his most recent arrest in March, the Chautauqua County Department of Probation filed a violation of probation against Cordell for failing to comply with the terms of his probation. The charges from that arrest are still pending.
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