Three York City Men Indicted for Drug Trafficking
| U.S. Attorney’s Office June 28, 2013 |
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a federal grand jury in Harrisburg return an indictment Wednesday charging three men with drug trafficking in York City.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, the indictment resulted from a two-year investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police and the York County Drug Task Force, conducted with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In that investigation, hundreds of purchases of heroin, cocaine, and crack cocaine were made from dozens of individuals, some of whom were affiliated with the Latin Kings street gang. That local investigation resulted in the arrest of dozens of individuals in a sweep that began on February 6, 2013, in York County. The present indictments arose from this investigation.
The United States Attorney’s Office has indicted the following individuals for drug trafficking: Hector Rengifo, age 40; Carlos Ortaga, age unknown; and Jose Cartagena, age 35, all of York.
Previously, a grand jury indicted eight individuals affiliated with the Latin Kings for their role in the larger drug trafficking conspiracy. Those individuals include: August Ranalli, age 31; Marcus Garcia, age 26; David Ramsey, age 31; Antonio Navaro-Garcia, age 21; Brandon Jones, age 24; Michael Enriquez, age 28; Daniel Pacheco-Morales, age 41; and Carlos Martinez-Villalongo, age 36. All of the defendants are from York, Pennsylvania.
Prosecution is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Michael A. Consiglio and Special Assistant United States Attorney David Sunday from the York County District Attorney’s Office.
Indictments and criminal informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
In these particular cases, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is 20 years’ imprisonment for the defendants and a term of supervised release following imprisonment and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances, and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public, and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational, and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.