SAN FRANCISCO - Olvin Didier Centeno-Gamez pleaded guilty today to three counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance within 1000 feet of a school, and one count of illegal re-entry into the United States after deportation, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Alex G. Tse and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Spradlin. The guilty plea was accepted by the Honorable Susan Illston, U.S. District Judge.
In pleading guilty to the controlled substance offenses, Centeno-Gamez, 36, a citizen of Honduras, admitted that on April 18, 2018, he was in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District and in possession of heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine that he intended to distribute. Centeno-Gamez further admitted that, at the time of his arrest, he was within 1000 feet of a local elementary school. Centeno-Gamez also admitted he illegally re-entered the United States after having been deported on five previous occasions between 2009 and 2017.
A federal grand jury indicted Centeno-Gamez on May 17, 2018, charging him with three counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance within 1000 feet of a school, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 and 860(a), and one count of illegal re-entry into the United States after deportation, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1326(a) and (b)(2). Today, Centeno-Gamez pleaded guilty to all counts in the indictment.
Centeno-Gamez will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service until his sentencing date, which is scheduled for Sept. 28, 2018, at 11:00 a.m. The controlled substance offenses to which Centeno-Gamez pleaded guilty carry a mandatory minimum sentence of one year of incarceration. The maximum statutory penalties for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance within 1000 feet of a school include 40 years of imprisonment and a $2,000,000 fine. The maximum statutory penalties for illegal re-entry by an alien after deportation include 20 years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. However, any sentence will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Boome is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Marina Ponomarchuck. The prosecution is the result of an investigation led by HSI and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
