Enrique Fuentes, a 32-year-old Chamblee, Georgia man and documented member of the 18th Street gang, has been sentenced to eight years and eight months in federal prison for possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute and carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. At the time of his arrest, Fuentes was already on probation for a 2016 felony conviction, compounding his criminal violations.
On the morning of April 25, 2018, Chamblee Police Department officers spotted Fuentes and a woman sitting near a restaurant in broad daylight. Surveillance footage and direct observation captured Fuentes handing an object to the woman, prompting officers to intervene. Upon approach, both individuals were found to have been smoking marijuana. A records check revealed Fuentes had an active warrant for a probation violation, leading to his immediate detention.
After securing Fuentes, law enforcement searched a nearby brown paper bag and discovered 11 individual plastic bags containing a total of 289 grams of methamphetamine. Inside the same bag, officers recovered a .38 caliber revolver and a digital scale commonly used to weigh narcotics for street-level distribution. The weapons and drugs were in plain reach, underscoring the brazen nature of the offense.
Fuentes, also known by the street alias ‘Grumpy,’ pleaded guilty to the charges on February 7, 2019. U.S. District Judge Mark H. Cohen handed down the sentence, which includes three years of supervised release following incarceration. Federal prosecutors emphasized that Fuentes’s conduct exemplified the violent, lawless behavior associated with transnational street gangs operating in metro Atlanta.
‘This gang member, while on probation, sat outside of a restaurant in broad daylight with a gun as well as methamphetamine packaged for sale,’ said U.S. Attorney Byung J. ‘BJay’ Pak. ‘Fuentes will be off our streets as a result of the outstanding efforts of the Chamblee Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations.’ The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Herskowitz, Chief of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crime Section.
The investigation was a collaborative effort between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Chamblee Police Department. HSI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Nick S. Annan stated, ‘HSI is committed to combatting transnational gang members who threaten public safety with criminal activities in our neighborhoods.’ The case was brought under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a federal initiative targeting violent offenders to reduce community-level crime.
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Key Facts
- State: Georgia
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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