Bethlehem Man Sentenced To 87 Months’ Imprisonment For Cocaine Trafficking And Firearms Offenses

SCRANTON. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that on March 16, 2017, United States District Judge Malachy E. Mannion sentenced Clyford Francois, age 38, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to 87 months’ imprisonment for possessing with the intent to distribute cocaine, and for possessing two firearms in furtherance of his narcotics trafficking activities.

According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Francois was arrested with over 12 grams of cocaine and two loaded firearms, a Smith and Wesson 9mm and a Titan .25 caliber, during a routine traffic stop. Law enforcement officials also recovered $612. Francois admitted that he intended to sell the cocaine and that some of the money was from prior cocaine sales.

Francois was indicted by a grand jury on December 15, 2015, and pleaded guilty pursuant to a plea agreement on September 6, 2016. He has been in custody since his arrest.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and by the Hanover Township Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of the Violent Crime Reduction Partnership (“VCRP”), a district wide initiative to combat the spread of violent crime in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the VCRP consists of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies whose mission is to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit violent crimes with firearms.

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