Defendant previously deported four times
BOSTON - A Colombian national was sentenced today in federal court in Worcester for drug and immigration offenses.
Leonardo Franco, 45, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to 18 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and will be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence. In May 2017, Franco pleaded guilty to one count of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and one count of illegal re-entry of a deported alien.
On Nov. 3, 2016, Franco was traveling to Oxford, Mass., with the intent of selling cocaine to a repeat customer. Law enforcement confronted Franco and found him in possession of more than a half-pound of cocaine contained in several clear baggies.
Franco has previously been removed from the United States on four occasions, including once in 2005, twice in 2010, and once in 2011 after being convicted of a federal immigration crime. Sometime after his removal in 2011, Franco illegally re-entered the United States again.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Michael Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; and Matthew Etre, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney William F. Abely of Weinreb’s Worcester Branch Office prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
