Tri-Cities Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Methamphetamine Trafficking
SPOKANE – Antonio Faustino Deleon, a 31-year-old resident of the Tri-Cities area in Washington, has been sentenced to 188 months in federal prison for possessing with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of pure methamphetamine.
According to information disclosed during court proceedings, Deleon was contacted on March 29, 2018, by the Kennewick Police Department’s Criminal Apprehension Team (CAT) after they received a report of a suspicious vehicle in a parking lot. CAT Detectives immediately recognized Deleon as an occupant of the vehicle based on multiple previous encounters, to include a recent encounter where Deleon pulled a knife on a law enforcement officer.
Deleon is a known long-term affiliate with the Sureno criminal street gang, and he is known by the moniker “Peanut.” Deleon’s history reveals at least thirty-one prior criminal cases.
During sentencing, Judge Salvador Mendoza Jr. noted Deleon’s significant criminal history, committing “crime after crime,” and that the public needed to be protected from Deleon’s future criminal activities.
Joseph H. Harrington, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, commended the law enforcement officers with the Kennewick Police Department and the FBI who investigated this case. “The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington commends the law enforcement officers with the Kennewick Police Department and the FBI who investigated this case. Their seamless partnership resulted in the successful outcome of this matter. The sentence imposed by the court removes a drug trafficker from our streets and sends a clear message to others who may choose to engage in such criminal activity,” he said.
This case was prosecuted under the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program, a federal, state, and local law enforcement collaboration to identify, investigate, and prosecute individuals responsible for violent crimes in our neighborhoods.
This case was investigated by the Kennewick Police Department in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force, which is comprised of officers from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, Kennewick Police Department, Pasco Police Department, Richland Police Department, and Washington Department of Corrections.
This case was prosecuted by Caitlin Baunsgard, Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.
Key Facts
- State: Washington
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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