A Thornton man will spend the next 11 years and 3 months behind bars after being sentenced for his role in a large-scale cocaine trafficking operation.
Court records show that Carlos Fernandez-Barron, 38, was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine.
The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Raymond P. Moore on June 8, 2018.
Fernandez-Barron will also be subject to five years of supervised release after serving his prison sentence.
The defendant appeared at the sentencing hearing in custody and was remanded at its conclusion.
Fernandez-Barron was one of seven individuals indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on September 3, 2015, for their involvement in the cocaine trafficking operation.
A superseding indictment was obtained on May 2, 2016, and of the seven defendants, five pleaded guilty and were sentenced for their crimes, while two defendants, including Fernandez-Barron, went to trial and were found guilty.
At trial, the government introduced evidence showing that Fernandez-Barron was a member of a sophisticated cocaine trafficking conspiracy that sent hundreds of kilograms of cocaine to Colorado and millions of dollars in proceeds back to Chihuahua, Mexico.
The defendant helped unload cocaine from hidden compartments in vehicles, distribute it in the Denver metro area, and then collect proceeds to return to Mexico.
The case was investigated by the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area’s Front Range Task Force, which includes agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Denver Field Division, with assistance from the Denver Police Department, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Aurora Police Department, Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, 18th Judicial District, Mountain View Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations (ICE).
Assistant United States Attorney Peter McNeilly and Special Assistant United States Attorney Wayne Paugh prosecuted this matter for the United States.
In addition to Fernandez-Barron, several other defendants were sentenced in connection with the case, including Lucio Ivan Lozano, who was sentenced to 180 months in prison, Edgar Rene Mier-Garces, who was sentenced to 178 months in prison, Keneth Molina-Villalobos, who was sentenced to 120 months in prison, Jose Lara-Gallegos, who was sentenced to 84 months in prison, Jose Delores Licon-Gallegos, who was sentenced to time served, and Martha Patricia Mota, who was sentenced to 15 months in prison.
Key Facts
- State: Colorado
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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