by Gershon Harrell
Fri, October 25th 2024 at 6:38 PM
FILE – An undocumented man from Mexico was sentenced to 10 years in prison for armed drug trafficking and illegal re-entry on Thursday, according to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
MIAMI, Fla. (CBS12) — An undocumented man from Mexico was sentenced to 10 years in prison for armed drug trafficking and illegal re-entry on Thursday, according to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).
According to the DOJ,Mauricio Villalpando-Gaytan pleaded guilty to a five-count indictment where he was charged withpossession with intent to distribute a detectable amount of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture of cocaine, possession of a firearm to further a drug trafficking crime, possession of a firearm and ammunition by an undocumented migrant and illegal re-entry after removal.
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The DOJ says Villalpando-Gaytan, 34, sold and attempted to sell cocaine to an undercover law enforcement on two separate occasions.
The DOJ said the first occasion happened on Jan. 28 while he was attending a local rodeo in Okeechobee County. Villalpando-Gaytan managed to sell $100 worth of cocaine to an undercover officer. The second time occurred on Jan. 29, the DOJ says Villalpando-Gaytan was armed with a gun and attempted to sell a kilogram of cocaine to the same undercover officer.
At the time of Villalpando’s arrest, the DOJ learned that he had been removed from the United States and illegally reentered the U.S. without consent.
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