DENVER - Korian Kenny Bascombe, age 31, of Aurora, Colorado, was sentenced late last week by U.S. District Court Judge Christine M. Arguello to serve 147 months (over 12 years) in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, federal and state law enforcement authorities announced. Following his prison sentence, Bascombe was ordered to serve 4 years of supervised release. Bascombe was also ordered to forfeit $7,746.00, a firearm and a 2000 Cadillac DeVille.
Bascombe was originally charged by indictment on Feb. 26, 2013, followed by a superseding indictment on June 18, 2013. He then pled guilty before Judge Arguello on September 9, 2014. Other defendants charged in the superseding indictment include Robert Bellender (aka Ghost), Victor Rivas-Pinzon, Andrew T. Sorensen, and Bruce Thomas. Bellender, Rivas-Pinzon and Thomas pled guilty and were sentenced to 54, 42, and 38 months in prison, respectively.
According to information contained in court documents, including the stipulated facts contained in Bascombe’s plea agreement, Bascombe was arrested after a traffic stop on Feb. 24, 2013. During a search of Bascombe’s car subsequent to his arrest, 28 grams of crack cocaine and a.22 caliber semi-automatic pistol with ammunition was found in the vehicle.
Based on the investigation by the Front Range Task Force, Bellender began purchasing distribution quantities of powder cocaine and crack cocaine from Bascombe for $1,200 per ounce when Bellender’s initial supplier stopped distributing to him. Bascombe and Bellender were converting or “cooking" powder cocaine to convert it into the crack form.
Between October of 2011 and his arrest, Bascombe sold a crack cocaine to Bellender and his co-conspirators. Twenty kilograms is the equivalent of approximately 705 ounces.
This case was investigated by agents of the Front Range Task Force which include the Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS CI), Denver Police Department, Aurora Police Department, Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Colorado National Guard, and the Mountain Police Department.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James R. Boma.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
