CHARLOTTE, N.C. B Today, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr. sentenced Mario Canino-Morales to 109 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release on drug trafficking and firearms offenses, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Canino-Morales, 44, of Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty in December 2016 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with an intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
U.S. Attorney Rose is joined in making today’s announcement by C.J. Hyman, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division and Chief Kerr Putney of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, from in or about June 2016 until July 27, 2016, Canino-Morales and his co-defendant, Fernando Morales-Matos, were involved in a drug conspiracy responsible for trafficking large amounts of crystal methamphetamine in Mecklenburg County. According to court records, the co-conspirators admitted to being part of the Mexican cartel, with intentions to expand methamphetamine distribution in Charlotte. Court records show that the co-conspirators were responsible for trafficking more than 2.5 kilograms of 96% pure methamphetamine. In addition to the methamphetamine, when Canino-Morales was arrested, law enforcement recovered a loaded 9mm handgun. Canino-Morales has a previous felony conviction and is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Canino-Morales is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole. Morales-Matos previously pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges and is currently awaiting sentencing.
In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney Rose thanked ATF and CMPD for leading the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sanjeev Bhasker, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is in charge of the prosecution.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
