CEDRIC BARQUET, 29, of Seattle, Washington, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 12 years in prison and five years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine and Crack Cocaine, and additional counts of Possession of Cocaine and Crack Cocaine with intent to Distribute. BARQUET was convicted in May 2009, following a two week-long trial. At sentencing Chief U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik noted that for a time BARQUET had turned his life around and worked on community issues. “You have leadership,” the Chief Judge said, “but you tossed it aside to make money with people who have flash and cash.”

BARQUET was identified for prosecution during a year-long investigation dubbed “Operation Clean Ride.” The investigation, lead by the ATF Violent Gang Task Force, took its name from the fact that leaders of the group operated out of a South Seattle car detail business. Fifteen people were arrested on March 20, 2008, following a series of court authorized wiretaps and surveillance that revealed the reach of the drug distribution network. Evidence at trial proved that a cocaine supplier was delivering multiple kilo quantities of cocaine to Nicola Kilcup and her husband Shawn Piper. In court numerous cell phone calls were played for the jury as Nicola Kilcup conspired with others to schedule drug deliveries. BARQUET was obtaining cocaine from Nicola Kilcup and cooking it into crack and selling it to his customers. Both recorded phone calls and surveillance video captured BARQUET’s drug activity.

Co- defendant Juan Salinas Bautista a/k/a Jose A. Morales Victoria, 38, of Des Moines, was sentenced last September to just over 11 years in prison. In 2008, Nicola Kilcup was sentenced to 12 years in prison, Shawn Piper was sentenced to 13 years in prison, and Nicola’s brother Gary Kilcup, who was also involved in the drug conspiracy was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

In his sentencing memo, Assistant United States Attorney Vince Lombardi noted that BARQUET had a lengthy and violent criminal history. BARQUET’s “criminal history is disturbingly lengthy and violent, including prior armed robberies, drug offenses, and a rape. He has been involved in, or accused of being involved in, other violent incidents. Defendant also has virtually no documented employment record, which suggests that he has largely made his living as a criminal,” Mr. Lombardi wrote in the sentencing memo.

The case was investigated by the ATF Violent Gang Task Force which includes agents and officers from the Seattle Police Department, the King County Sheriff’s Office, Washington State Department of Corrections, Kent Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Additional assistance with the arrests on March 20, 2008, was provided by the United States Marshal’s Service Pacific Northwest Fugitive Task Force, the SeaTac Police Department and the Des Moines Police Department

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Vince Lombardi and Todd Greenberg.

For additional information please contact Emily Langlie, Public Affairs Officer for the United States Attorney’s Office at (206) 553-4110.

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